4 Maelstrom: Tunnels
by illmatar
Summary: Rodimus, Magnus, and Jazz travel through Cybertron to confront Vector Sigma. Part of a series. For the first 9 chapters of full comic visit the deviantart website under illmatar Rated M for Mature themes/violence
1. Chapter 1

**Maelstrom 4**

**Tunnels**: Part 1

Author's note: This story is part of a LONG series called Maelstrom. It is strictly Gen. 1 - sorry, but that was all that was out when I started writing back in the late 1980's. It began as a fan-publication so the first chapters are in the form of a comic book! If you have not read the nine original **Maelstrom Comics** and the preceding text stories, I strongly suggest you do. This is a complex universe. They can be found at http// illmatar. deviantart. com (I have put double spaces between the addy here or FF . Net eats the link.) The comics and art which accompanies this series are there...and believe me I am a better artist than writer.

**Most chapters of this series contain strong language and violence. Rated M for adult themes! Really! Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. Critiques adored!**

Optimus Prime met Ultra Magnus at the first rendezvous. He would not meet the City Commander's optics however, or answer the questions in them. Instead he led Magnus on an intricate "long cut" to the next meeting place.

Jazz was waiting for them as ordered. He'd been given an equally circuitous route to follow to get there. It was plain to Magnus from the intent look on Jazz's face that the specialist wasn't worried, just intrigued. Magnus envied him a bit, especially when Optimus curtly ordered them to be silent. It was like the senior Prime to worry - it wasn't like him to show it by being so brusque.

Again Optimus led them in seeming circles, yet Magnus realized they were in fact going cautiously deeper into the older tunnels beneath Iacon. He was wondering where they were headed when a soft voice floated out of one of the tunnels they'd just passed.

"I'm here, Optimus."

All three of them whirled on the sound; Optimus included a tense yelp.

"Geez, man! Who's side are you on?" Jazz asked sharply.

Magnus contented himself with glaring balefully at the speaker.

"I wish you'd quit doing that," Optimus said sourly as Rodimus emerged from the darkness behind them. For once the junior Prime didn't smile or joke about startling them. Magnus really started to worry then. He knew that most of Rodi's childish behavior was smoke and mirrors but he also knew Rodimus kept up that diversion almost religiously. Whatever this was, it was taking too much of Rodi's energy to let him play the fool. Jazz met Magnus' optics, and he knew the specialist was having similar thoughts.

"Are...are you sure you really want to go through with this?" Optimus said. He actually sounded nervous!

"Have you come up with a better idea," Rodimus asked testily, "because if not, we have to get moving." Optimus just sighed and shook his head. Magnus and Jazz exchanged glances again - obviously this wasn't a new argument, or one Optimus felt very good about losing.

Op turned his back on his partner to address them. "You two are here because I insisted Rodimus needs help," Optimus continued in spite of Rodi's annoyed snort. "You two were the only Autobots we could agree on. I don't think there has ever been a more crucial mission. Rodimus will fill you in on the details. What I have to stress is that whatever occurs must remain ABSOLUTELY secret from everybody. I'm sure you'll understand why soon enough but I need you to swear to it now."

"If you aren't sure about it don't come," said Rodimus flatly. His voice was unusually cold - normally you could at least sense some undercurrent of emotion. He scrutinized at them and frowned, as if weighing their resolve and finding it lacking.

Jazz resented that a little. After all the running around he'd been doing day and night, helping Rodimus obtain what he needed to assassinate slavers without raising suspicions, Jazz at least expected Rodimus to trust him. "Hey, Rod-man, lighten up! We know how to keep our traps shut!"

Rodimus' optics narrowed. His tone lost every particle of warmth. "If you think you have any basis to compare this to, think again. If it were solely up to me you wouldn't even be here. I'm telling you - if you go you will probably wish you hadn't. You are going to be frightened. You are going to be angry - more than you've ever been in your life. I chose you two because I thought you stood the best chance of handling it. That doesn't mean I want that judgment put to the test. If you have any doubts don't come."

Magnus felt a surge and suddenly realized that even if his ability to keep quiet had ever been in doubt he had to go. He'd seen Optimus fret before. He'd seen Rodi's temper flare and ebb. Whatever was driving the Primes now exceeded anything he'd ever sensed from them, and whatever it was Magnus wouldn't be able to rest until he knew it was over.

Jazz only knew he couldn't resist a challenge - especially with Rodimus' grim stare still boring into him. They both vowed silence.

Rodimus sighed and smiled faintly. "Thanks guys. I'm sorry to be so blunt. This is sort of hard for me."

"I'd hate to see something that's really hard on you then, " Optimus said to him with a hint of reproach, "Are you sure you are going to be alright?"

"Do I have a choice?" Rodimus snapped sarcastically.

Optimus just sighed and addressed the other two, "Keep your optics on him. His own welfare is STILL the last thing that ever enters his considerations." Rodimus snorted again, but Optimus ignored the bait. He left.

"Come on," Rodimus said with a sigh, taking the nearest tunnel to the right.

"You really don't want us along, do you?" Magnus observed. It wasn't a really question.

"You remember how I felt about bringing Marissa into the counsel?"

"Painfully."

"This is worse."

"Ah. Why?"

"The same reasons. Your presence triples the risks of complete exposure, and I think there are times when the aid a person can give just isn't worth the pain the knowledge is going to cause them."

"We can take it, Rod," Jazz insisted, still a little put off by what he saw as Rodi's lack of faith.

"I know you can Jazz. You just shouldn't have to. I never doubted either of your abilities to DEAL with this. If I did, I would have gone alone. Optimus would have gone ballistic, but there's nothing he could have done to stop me."

Magnus snorted. "He could put you in detention."

"I can break out of detention, Magnus," Rodimus said matter-of-factly. Magnus nearly scoffed and then stopped himself. The hallway only echoed with two pairs of Autobot footsteps. Hot Rod would have been bragging. Rodimus probably could do exactly what he claimed.

"Are you going to tell us why we are down here?" Magnus asked instead.

"Yeah, what's the scoop?" Jazz echoed curiously.

"We are going to talk to Vector Sigma," Rodimus said.

They waited for him to elaborate and exchanged disgusted looks when he didn't.

"About what? Come on, Rod! Fill us in!" Jazz was sounding a tiny bit fed-up.

"New Transformers?" Magnus asked.

"No. Old ones. There are some points of history I want cleared up."

They exchanged looks again.

"A history lesson? This is your All-Important Mission?" Jazz asked in disbelief.

Rodimus didn't answer but he threw them a green-optic glare. Then he just turned back the direction they were headed and kept going. His posture grew rigid with his head low between his shoulders and his fingers grinding into his palms. Yet, for all that he looked like he was stomping his feet, he remained silent. Further questions from both of them got no response.

x

x

x

They traveled ever deeper for many hours when they started to encounter the first defensive traps. The tunnels were decayed, narrow, and chocked with unnameable debris. Ultra Magnus had to resort to stooping often to avoid low ceilings and hanging wires. He felt awkward and grumbled inwardly at the ease with which his companions made their way through. He supposed it made sense that the flaming assassin should move fluidly, but decided sourly that Jazz made it look easy just for spite.

Rodimus, in front, stopped so suddenly that Jazz and Ultra Magnus nearly bumped into him. Being none too pleased with Rodi in the first place, Magnus wasn't surprised to hear Jazz muttering some of his beloved Earth's more colorful phrases under his breath. The part about "stubborn little bastard" might not be technically accurate, but Magnus agreed with the sentiment.

"What is the problem?" Magnus asked when Rodimus knelt down to study the floor of an empty corridor.

"Shh," said Rodimus.

Magnus and Jazz exchanged disgusted glances. There wasn't much they agreed on, but the Rodi-annoyance factor was one thing they shared lately. Rodimus continued inspecting the floor for no apparent reason. Jazz leaned facetiously against the wall, and Magnus stood at attention with crossed arms while they waited. Rodimus inspected the ceiling from where he crouched on the floor and suddenly grinned. He pressed on the floor in front of him hard and drew his hand back quickly. Even Magnus yelped a little when an entire section of ceiling simply dropped with a flattening crash a few seconds later. The section was nearly ten-feet thick. If they'd been underneath that....

Rodimus chuckled to himself a little as he stepped up onto the downed section. "Not elegant, but effective," he said with amused admiration. Neither of the others thought it was too funny, and they paid careful attention the next time Rodi stopped for no reason, and said "Shh." The deeper they got, the denser the traps got. Most of them were old and easy to spring or avoid. They all kept their optics peeled for anything suspicious; Rodimus in particular seemed hyper-alert to the first sign of trouble.

His vigilance kept them out of the majority of pitfalls they encountered on the way, but some of them had triggers he didn't spot until after they were in the danger zone. Nevertheless, they dealt fairly easily with most of the deterrents. Cybertronian metals had advanced greatly in the last hundred million years, and their bodies were simply tougher than the alloys used in the pitfalls. The one where the spinning blades ate up the floor certainly did look nasty though, and the one where the gravity increased imperceptibly until they were straining to lift their legs cost them a lot in energon. They endured the expected fights with old style drones with a sort of amused forbearance, each of them dispatching the mindless annoyances in their own ways.

Just when they were beginning to laugh about it all, one of the traps hit home. It was a simple trap - only too simple. There were no laser triggers or camouflaged but observable triggers to warn them. In fact, Rodimus walking in the lead with his light feet, actually stepped on the pressure plate. His assassin's walk was apparently too subtle to set off the mechanism. Jazz's wasn't. He put his foot down and felt the floor shift under his weight. It sank instantly, and a hidden blade underneath the floor sprang out from behind his ankle joint. The blade lashed horizontally from right to left - nearly severing his left foot before it lodged in the tough metal of his body. He couldn't pull his leg loose, and was in too much pain to even cry out at first. Rodimus more than made up for it with some interesting human curses. After a quick check to see if there was any more to the trap, they set about the painful work of freeing him. Ultra Magnus held Jazz's body stable, and Rodimus firmly grasped the blade. He could feel the heavy spring resisting his efforts.

"Magnus, you're going to have to pull him up the minute I get this thing clear."

"No problem," Magnus said. Jazz concentrated on not screaming.

Inch by careful inch, Rodimus moved the blade back the way it had swung from, fighting the tension and the awkward angle the whole way.

"NOW!" he shouted, and Magnus pulled Jazz clear. Rodimus let go of the blade and it swung home with a resounding "thwack". They inspected Jazz's leg. The blade had passed almost three feet into Jazz's ankle mechanism - severing wires, neural circuits, and some of the hydraulics. It hurt a bit too. Once they did a bit of field repair, Jazz could manage the pain enough to stand as long as he didn't put his full weight on it.

The worst part was he had to hobble instead of using his usual trademark strut and he found that very annoying.

"Sometimes," he said as a joke (to prove to them he was handling it alright) ,"I think Vector Sigma doesn't like visitors."

Rodimus looked at him sharply, "Really? Do ya think?" There was no need for him to sound quite so sarcastic in Jazz's mind.

They traveled on a bit more slowly. Rodimus made a point to test every floor panel with the butt of his gun before allowing them to step on it. Very soon they were all frustrated with their slow progress, but Jazz had to admit he couldn't go all that much faster now anyway. The next fight with the drones took a bit longer too, since Rodimus (annoyingly) told Jazz to stay out of it. The specialist shrugged, sat down on the floor, and contented himself to blasting the drones from there. Rodimus threw him a dark glare, but didn't protest. Once the fight was over, they went on unmolested for almost three hours, at least until the tunnels widened into a long, narrow chamber with ceilings about three times Magnus' height.

"I don't like this... it's too quiet," Magnus whispered. He didn't know why he felt the need to whisper, but something about this ancient chamber seemed to demand it. Its metal was greyish with age and long undisturbed dust.

"Hey, Mags, don't complain," Jazz said. "We don't need to go lookin' for any more trouble!" Magnus glanced down at Jazz's mangled ankle, noted the energon drizzling slowly to the floor, and understood Jazz's feelings. Rodimus said nothing. He stood still at the threshold, running his optics along the walls, floor, and ceiling.

"Do you see any traps?" Magnus murmered.

Rodimus shook his head and frowned. "That's what worries me. We are too close to the core for my paranoid mind to take this at face value." Magnus and Jazz looked at each other. They were starting to regret ever calling Rodimus paranoid - if only because they were starting to share his mind-set. "I don't like the shape of this room," the paranoid one continued. "It's different from any of the others, and I can't think of a reason why it should be."

His companions noted the contours of the chamber. He was right. It had a much higher ceiling than most of the others, with rounded corners and slightly curved walls. The overall shape was roughly hexagonal... not Rodi's favorite to be sure. He shuddered and refused to believe in bad omens. Determined not to let his nerves show, Rodimus inspected a wall and noticed that its very substance was different from any of the prevalent building materials elsewhere on Cybertron. He frowned at it, unsure that it was even metal.

"Do you two have any clue what this stuff is?" he asked.

They didn't. The three of them looked at each other and shared that sickening feeling of panic. They all made up their minds to beat it at the same time and turned to run. Jazz hobbled but managed to move very quickly. The doors at both ends slammed shut.

"FUCK IT!" Rodimus growled as they came up against the far door. This new habit of using human curses still shocked Magnus a bit, although Jazz was rapidly learning to ignore it. There was no obvious latch, and even Rodimus' frantic search couldn't unearth an opening mechanism.

"OK. Stand back," Magnus said. Something about this place gave him the surges and he wanted out...now. He launched both shoulder missiles at the door, and felt a moment of satisfaction when the resulting explosion rocked the room. His self-assurance quickly faded when they all realized the door was undamaged.

"Shitshitshitshit......" Rodimus was muttering. His optics were rapidly turning quite green which also gave his friends the surges. The light, which had remained so constant on their journey down, suddenly began to fluctuate.

Staring around them, Jazz suddenly shouted, "Hey! Do you see that?!" He pointed wildly at the flickering light.

"No... What?" Rodimus asked.

"THAT!" Magnus said in shock - suddenly seeing what Jazz was seeing. The patterns of light intensified around them, suddenly resolving into images. They could make out ambiguous forms in the lights. There seemed to be darting figures all around them. The longer they stared, the clearer the images became. The vague forms clearly became running bodies, and as they tried to sort them out, Rodimus and his friends began to recognize not only the shapes, but individuals.

It was the Autobots, themselves included. Themselves - in battle.

The images got clearer and clearer, until they looked like full-fledged holograms. Rodimus tried to identify the battle. He recognized himself, Magnus, Jazz, and even Optimus. In fact most of the Autobots seemed to be present, fighting both Decepticons and Sharkticons. He didn't recognize the scenery or the sequence of events.

"Do either of you guys remember this fight?" he asked, confused.

"No, Rod-man. Can't say that I do," Jazz stated, trying to maintain his usual calm.

"Magnus? What about you? Magnus?" Rodimus looked over at his City Commander and felt shock. Magnus wasn't responding to him at all. There was a faint, gleaming aura all around him, as if he were a hologram too - although an incredibly solid hologram, and he suddenly began running around the chamber.

x

x

x

_Magnus found himself in the center of the battle. He cried out in denial as he saw Optimus cut down by a Quint cruiser. Prime's body fell just yards from him, and Magnus went to run to his friend's side. He tripped over something as he did, and noticed Rodimus' mutilated corpse at his feet. The damage was so extensive on both Primes Magnus didn't need to check._

_Both....We lost them both..._

_He could see the Quints and the 'Cons regrouping for another assault, as the stricken Autobots gathered around him, waiting for orders._

_He knew it fell to him to take over although his whole being quaked with denial. He opened his mouth to direct and encourage his remaining friends, but found he had to close it again. What to tell them? A plan formed, but unraveled just as fast. This shouldn't be his job! He didn't want the big chair - he'd seen enough of Prime's suffering to know that. Besides... he couldn't DECIDE on anything! Nebulous ideas continued to form and collapse. The best choice, ANY choice continued to elude him as the Autobots crowded closer and closer. Their voices became a desperate wailing when he couldn't answer. _

_LET ME THINK! LEAVE ME ALONE! his mind screamed, but his voice failed him. All he could utter was a lost sort of moan._

_They crushed around him in their frenzy, clawing him apart for answers he didn't have. He saw Galvatron laugh from the unfettered air above them and aim that deadly cannon. One blast. One blast for all the Autobots in their concentrated mob around a voiceless commander. The cannon flared thousands of times more powerful than it should have been. Magnus stumbled when the Autobots' weight was suddenly gone, but that was only because they were flying away from him with the impact._

_He screamed in anguish as the bodies of his friends fell like rain. His own body was slick with energon, none of it his. Their corpses crumbled into a blowing black powder that reached his knees and he was alone under the red sky._

_In the desolation he wept. It was his fault...all of it. The sand at his feet stirred, and the colorless corpse of Rodimus Prime lurched up out of the sand as if jerked on an invisible rope. It reached out for him, its mangled limbs seeking his life. Magnus trembled, but didn't seek to run or stop it. It was his just punishment for failing a job even Hot Rod had managed....._

"_Magnus..." it groaned as it came for him. "Magnus...." The hands made contact.._. and shook him firmly. Then one smacked him once across the face.

"Magnus?!" Rodimus was really sounding upset.

"Hey, snap out of it man. It's just a hologram," Jazz cried.

Magnus' cry of terror ended in a confused yelp.

"Wha... what's happening," Magnus asked desperately, still under the influence of the nightmare He noticed the chamber's lights shift again and felt his head suddenly clear. He shuddered. It had seemed so real.

"I don't know," Rodimus said gravely. "It never stopped looking like a hologram to us and I don't know when we lost you."

"I don't either... I truly believed I was there. The details aren't clear to me now but when I was in there, it all made sense. I knew what was happening and even remembered events leading up to the fight. I saw, heard, and felt EVERYTHING." Magnus shuddered, and noticed the worry and compassion on the faces of his friends. He felt a bit embarrassed for having "fallen for" the illusion.

"Are you sure you're OK?" Rodimus asked.

"Yes. Just don't die... and if you DO die, don't come after me."

Rodimus smiled faintly and let the matter rest. He didn't really feel like going back into the details of Conversion again right now. "No promises," he said. Let them think he was joking. "Now let's find a way out of here."


	2. Chapter 2

**Maelstrom 4**

**Tunnels: Part 2**

Author's note: This story is part of a LONG series called Maelstrom. It is strictly Gen. 1 - sorry, but that was all that was out when I started writing back in the late 1980's. It began as a fan-publication so the first chapters are in the form of a comic book! If you have not read the nine original **Maelstrom Comics** and the preceding text stories, I strongly suggest you do. This is a complex universe. They can be found at http// illmatar. deviantart. com (I have put double spaces between the addy here or FF . Net eats the link.) The comics and art which accompanies this series are there...and believe me I am a better artist than writer.

**Most chapters of this series contain strong language and violence. Rated M for adult themes! Really! Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. Critiques adored!**

They turned their attention back to the doors, searching for the slightest anomaly which might indicate a way out. Nothing. Then the lights shifted colors again, and they noticed a single figure forming out of the swirling patterns. They endeavored to concentrate on the task of escape, but failed when they noticed who the image was. It

was Jazz. The hologram was walking somewhere with an unusually tense expression. Jazz stared at the image of himself, and as it came closer he allowed it to touch him. As it did, his perception of reality altered completely, and he became as oblivious to his friends as Magnus had been moments prior.

_Jazz was walking down the corridors of EDC Academy on Cybertron. He was on a mission. He had heard some ugly talk about KC and he wasn't going to back off this time, in spite of her repeated pleas for him to ignore it._

_KC's selection as Perceptor's aide had been truly warranted. She was an excellent scientist - a truly creative genius, and Perceptor's judgment had solid basis. The fact that she also had both the patience and the sense of humor to work with Perceptor didn't hurt either. Top that off with her genuine modesty and passion for the work, and you had the only human selected to work with the Autobot scientist who had ever lasted more than a few weeks. Most either didn't have the brains to keep up with Perceptor, or the emotional understanding to endure either his nattering, his insane work load, or his scatterbrained tendency to lose track of things, including his aides._

_KC had it all and Jazz was sick of spiteful cadets implying otherwise. She said it didn't bother her but Jazz sensed more reluctance to leave the haven of the lab in recent weeks. It had always been hard to get her to drop her work for some fun but she always had a great time with him once he managed to "spring" her. The last few times though she hadn't been relaxing much, and once he'd even caught her actually hiding behind him when a group of her peers passed by._

_It broke his heart. She was a good friend, lots of fun to hang with, and she shouldn't be squandering her youth on Cybertronian war toys._

_She was also one of the kindest humans Jazz had ever met, which was part of why she took such good care of Perceptor. Still, she hadn't even considered herself a candidate for Perceptor's aide. She had accidentally drawn attention to herself by asking insightful questions at a seminar being conducted by a professor who WAS supposedly a candidate, when Perceptor was sitting in observing. The questions, asked in innocent curiosity and desire to understand, had made the man look like a fool. His basic premise, a pretentious load of poorly researched crap, had been designed to dazzle. No one else objected because his supposed formula's were too convoluted for the rest of the professors to follow. _

_Perceptor, of course, had no trouble seeing through the deception, although he didn't realize the man was trying to trick him into selecting him. Perceptor merely thought the man did sloppy research. KC had thought SHE was misreading something because the formulae didn't make sense to her. Her questions made two things very clear to Perceptor - she was the only person in the room bright enough to see the faults, and the only one devoted enough to keep questioning until she understood. Perceptor had chosen her on the spot, ignoring all the protocols, and leaving Optimus with a political mess. In the end though Perceptor had gotten his aide and in spite of the bruised egos of the more senior candidates KC deserved the position. _

_She certainly hadn't slept with anyone to get it either._

_Jazz was furious really, although he didn't show it. He barged into EDC academy to talk to her supervisors to set the record straight. It was time to put a stop to this._

_FLASH_

_Jazz found himself at the door of KC's seldom occupied quarters. He opened the door, and smiled as he always did at the dichotomy. The work station side of her quarters was spotless. The other was heaped with soiled laundry and half eaten meals. KC had a habit of getting side-tracked by inspiration or dropping off in exhaustion while she ate._

_All this was as expected. Her body was slumped over her keyboard, also as expected. He thought she was sleeping on the desk again. Even before he touched her the suicide note on the monitors screen told him otherwise......_

"Rodimus! KC's dead! It's my fault! I made it worse! I... I.. thought I knew how to handle it! Rodi! She's dead!"

"NO! Jazz! Snap out of it! LOOK! JAZZ!" Rodimus grabbed the frantic specialist and lifted him off the ground, shaking him. "LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE!"

Jazz did, and went limp in Rodi's grasp. Rodimus threw Magnus a desperate look, and set Jazz down.

"It was all a dream." Jazz asked, almost pleading, not quite daring to hope. "She's OK?"

"KC's fine, Jazz," Rodimus said, "none of it was real."

"That's not true, man! I was thinking of doing that!" Jazz's voice shook slightly, "I could've... she would've..."

"You don't know that Jazz," Rodimus said, "You don't know what would have happened. The fact that this is upsetting you this way was probably the point." His optics were flickering their way towards green again. "I think we are being toyed with." They had seldom heard his voice turn so cold. He turned towards the door with new determination when the room began its games again. This time, it was his own image which approached them. He froze at the sight of himself, walking through the corridors of Central, smiling and nodding at ghost Autobots as they passed. The hologram touched him and he was lost.

_Rodimus headed for the command center to report in for his shift, greeting his busy friends as they passed him in the hall. When he entered the main control room he noted who was present before he did his routine scan. Optimus, Springer, Blurr, Arcee, Kup, and Blaster were performing their usual duties and greeted him in all their individual fashions. Magnus and Jazz were lurking strangely in the background. Rodimus did his Conversion scan with his usual terror, always afraid his worst nightmare would come true. _

_This time... it did... over and over... and over._

_He paused, completely incapable of coping emotionally with the multiple positive scans so he did the only thing he could. His mind shut down every part capable of feeling and he started killing, starting with Blurr, who he knew would be the most dangerous in this state. Once the others were aware he was hunting them, they lost all trace of their assumed personalities and turned on him as one._

Magnus and Jazz watched Rodi's nightmare begin with the same concern they'd felt for each other when it had been their turns. Neither of them were too surprised when Rodimus' fear included his closest friends turning up as Converts. What did shock them was the efficient, fluid way Rodimus began slaughtering the command staff. They both knew Rodimus had learned a lot of assassin's tactics when he'd been with Lancer, but had never seen him cut loose in an open fight before. It wasn't until he forked his fingers straight through Springer's head that they realized they might have a more serious problem than the emotional after-effects this nightmare would cause.

Magnus noted that Rodimus was keeping a suspicious optic on them as well - as if he were wondering how and when they would attack him.

"Uh, Jazz... do you think he thinks we're one of them?" Magnus asked, hoping the specialist would disagree.

Jazz looked at his hallucinating commander. "The way our luck's been running..." was all he had to say. They looked at each other, their optics widening. Rodimus was making quick work of Blaster, who happened to be his last opponent.

"Ooh, shit," Magnus whispered, and Jazz was too busy agreeing with him to be surprised at the human curse. Rodimus turned those cold, dead optics on them, seeming little more alive than the supposed Converts he'd just slaughtered. He rushed them and they both dodged different directions. Jazz was limping badly and Rodi's arm lasers sliced right past his face.

"Whoa! Rodi! It's ME! Aahhh!" Jazz rolled out of the way as best he could. Only the fact that he was running through the holographic furniture and Rodimus was going around it saved him. Magnus intervened to try to draw Rodi's attention from their wounded friend. Rodimus whirled to face him. Magnus didn't like that focused emerald stare one little bit.

"What are we going to do?! We can't hurt him!" Jazz yelled.

"Hurt HIM?" Magnus shouted, backpedaling in full retreat. "We'll be lucky if he doesn't kill us both! RODIMUS STOP IT! YOU'RE DREAMING!"

_Rodimus turned to the last two Converts, wondering why they weren't already engaging him. Not that it mattered. He couldn't abide their existence. They had the bodies of his friends and that wasn't acceptable. The thing that had been Jazz was limping for some reason, and managed to elude him even though he thought he had it cornered against the console. The fact that the other was programed to protect it and intervened confused Rodimus. These two had obviously been given more sophisticated programing that was designed to maintain the assumed personality even after exposure. He wondered what the purpose of that was. He paused a moment to study them. He didn't want to. He wanted to destroy them as quickly as possible but if he could understand their purpose, it might save more of his people later._

Magnus gasped in relief when Rodimus stopped for a second. The boy was just too damned fast, and he was using totally alien tactics. Magnus put as much distance between himself and Rodimus as the actual walls of the room would allow.

"We HAVE got to wake him up!" Magnus gasped.

"Yeah! But how do we convince him he's dreamin' when everything we do plays into what he expects? Converts are SUPPOSED to seem like the real us!" Jazz cried. They stared at each other again, the same thought occurring to them at the same instant. Rodimus charged Magnus again.

Magnus knew what he needed to do - behave in a manner so utterly foreign to his usual nature that it would never have been included in a Convert's programing. He could only think of one thing and briefly wondered if it wouldn't be less painful to just let Rodimus kill him. He ran around the room with his young commander in close pursuit - again saved by the fact that Rodimus went around objects Magnus knew weren't solid. Magnus hoped this worked because he would hate to die looking silly.

Desperately and completely out of key, he sang.

_Rodimus couldn't figure out any reason for the strange programing of the two Converts. He couldn't imagine why anyone would program one to try to convince him he was dreaming but he couldn't stand to let the things exist, and attacked again. The thing that had been Magnus didn't counter-attack, again leaving Rodimus confused. It ran away from him, and this time Rodimus was sure he saw it go right through the chairs, the consoles, the heaped bodies of their friends... It was even programed to seem frightened, as was the Jazz-Convert watching from the sidelines. The Magnus-Convert opened its mouth, and Rodimus braced himself for another argument from something that would seem like the Magnus he'd known; perhaps another attempt to convince him he was dreaming. He was prepared to ignore anything it said._

"_I am the very model of a modern major general!...AHH! __**JAZZ! What are the words? **__Oh slag! Something, something, Vegetable, Animal, and Mineral! I'll never live this dow-own and Jazz I'm gonna have to ki-ILL you, 'cause I am the very model of a modern major general!"_

Rodimus stopped dead in his tracks - staring from the singing Ultra Magnus to the hysterically laughing Jazz in pure shock. Jazz doubled over at the sight of his dumbfounded expression and fell to the floor. His hurt foot made him yelp but he continued roaring nonetheless. Magnus glared at Jazz, not really caring in that moment if Rodimus killed them both. Jazz certainly deserved it. Rodimus stood there blinking like a sun-struck goose. He shook his head.

"Jazz...? Magnus..? You're... we're not in Central..." Rodimus paused again while the events of the last few hours caught up with him. The fact that his friends HADN'T been Converted, that even the ones he'd "killed" were probably as close to safe as they could be with the Jabez threat looming so close, finally reached him, and he sagged with relief.

"Rodimus... are you back with us?" Magnus asked. Rodimus nodded and tried to figure out why Jazz was convulsing with laughter on the floor. Then he remembered.

Magnus threw his hands up in disgust when Rodimus joined Jazz on the floor, laughing at his expense.

"I only did it because I had to!" Magnus said, trying to recover his dignity by getting angry.

"I never realized how dedicated you were to the cause Ultra Magnus," Rodimus said. He and Jazz dissolved into hysteria as if that was the funniest thing they'd ever heard. Magnus folded his arms and waited. Fortunately he was saved from further ridicule (for the moment) by the fact that they realized the doors were standing open.

"No way!" Jazz said, scrambling as best he could to his feet. They all made a mad dash for the forward door before it could make up its mind to close again. Barreling their way through, they were brought up short when they realized the next chamber was identical to the one they'd just left. Once they got over that horrible disappointment, they started exploring again. They found that while the door back the way they'd come closed, it didn't lock, but the one heading for Vector Sigma was shut tight. Rodimus swore so long and creatively that Magnus and Jazz stopped searching to room to stare and wait until he was finished. They didn't even recognize all the languages.

"Are you done yet?" Jazz asked.

Rodimus said something gutteral. It sounded like he had a chainsaw in his throat.

"What the heck was that?" Magnus said.

"That was Draxian for being so unattractive that you need to use you own tail for....um ...never-mind." Rodimus said. They could hear trembling fury in his voice.

"Since when do you speak Draxian?" Magnus wanted to know.

"I don't... Lancer just picked up a few... Never-mind. I just figured this mess out that's all."

"What?!"

"It's a test. We can go through these chambers and endure whatever they throw at us to get to Vector Sigma, or we can bail, and go back the way we came." Rodimus couldn't quite hide how furious this made him, which confused his companions greatly. Finding out it was a test made this all much simpler for them. They expected such things for those seeking the aid of Vector Sigma. From Rodimus' perspective, this was just another unnecessary piece of suffering his people were being forced to endure for no good reason. The fact they felt it was unquestionably justified made him all the more angry.

The lights flickered again, and they all waited nervously while the images sorted themselves out.

"Looks like my turn," Jazz said, trying to sound casual, as he saw his image surrounded by humans.

He stepped into himself deliberately. No sense avoiding it. If they needed to be tested they would be. Going back wasn't an option.

_Jazz found himself surrounded by humans. That was only to be expected. He was, of course, the coolest thing they'd ever heard of. Some of the Autobots clung to him as well, not that he cared much. As long as he was the acknowledged life of the party, he didn't much care who attended. Whatever he wanted to do, they did. Whatever he wanted to say, he said, and if he had to put someone down to make himself sound good, well, them's the breaks. Besides, it was embarrassing to be seen with anyone who's clothes, hair, or manner of speaking weren't the height of fashion. As many times as he'd tried to get KC to make herself more presentable, she'd never understood that. He'd finally told her to split, and she'd gone. She'd been crying as she'd left, but it wasn't as if he hadn't warned her. She should have been glad he'd put up with it as long as he had. Ungrateful bitch._

_It was time for his shift. What a drag. He was just getting this party off the ground. He knew Rodimus was counting on him to set up those scanners in the semi-populated areas that fringed the wide clear zones around Metroplex. There were reports of missing kids from those areas but hey. It could wait. It could wait forever in fact. He was tired of this bullshit. He was sick of doing the dirty work in the shadows - unsung. Unappreciated. No one ever heard of most of the work he did these days, let alone noted the smooth way he handled it._

_When his commander's voice called him over the communicators he simply turned it off and went back to partying._

_FLASH_

_Rodimus and Optimus called him into the conference room. He nearly laughed at their stern faces. Even Rodi had forgotten how to have fun - the pathetic sap._

"_There were three children abducted last night from sector 37- Delta," Optimus said._

"_Yeah. What were they doin'? Hitch-hiking?" Jazz said sarcastically._

_Rodimus' fist pummeled the table. Optimus flinched but Jazz merely cocked his head at the outburst. Some people just couldn't take it._

"_It was a slaver abduction! You should have had those scanners up three days ago! What have you been doing?"_

"_Hey, chill out Hot Rod. You're gonna blow a circuit!"_

_Rodimus' optics went blazing green, and he grabbed Jazz by the neck._

"_Hey, man. Watch the paint! I've gotta make the scene tonight!"_

"_Three kids got taken...most likely raped, tortured , AND THEN Converted, and you're thinking you're gonna 'make the scene'? You'll be lucky if we don't throw you in detention! Jazz! What's happened to you?! Is something wrong? What are you thinking?" Rodimus' voice started in an outraged roar and ended in an almost compassionate plea. They thought something must be wrong with him. There wasn't. He'd finally just decided to stop taking their shit - and their orders._

"_It's not my fault some dumb kids can't look out for themselves, and their parents aren't keeping tabs. And don't worry about showing me the door! I'm outta here! You guys have cramped my style for the last time..."_

_FLASH_

_They swarmed around him constantly. His followers, his shield, his slaves. Like an obscene metallic Baucchus, he worked them into a frenzy or sent them spiraling into despair on a whim. They worshiped him. He was their God. The faintest sign of disapproval from him could send someone throwing themselves off a building - and frequently did. Knowing one of their names and speaking it publicly was the highest honor he could bestow. Many of the recipients of such an honor fainted. A few had heart-attacks. He smiled to himself. Among his followers, it was considered a passport to eternal bliss to die "in favor"_.

_The Autobots hated him of course. Had tried a few times to get to him even. But what could they do with so many "innocent, deluded" devotees surrounding him at all times... fanatically devoted to defending him? All part of being "in" wasn't it? Never working was part of being "in" too. Just like their god. Like a swarm of predatory locusts, Jazz and his throngs went from city to city-looting, rioting, and raping. Having to ask for something was to be too uncool to just get it. Many fled at the merest rumor of their approach. Others often stood to defend their homes. His followers frequently died, but those that did were automatically "in favor", so nobody cared. And of course, with the modifications he'd made to his dazzling powers, and his irresistible charisma, Jazz always left each new city with more followers than before......_

The scene suddenly ended, leaving Jazz standing paralyzed.

"Jazz..." Rodimus said softly. "Jazz... it wasn't real. That wasn't you."

"Yes... it was..." Jazz said, still staring blankly ahead. "That's what scares me. It was."

"Jazz. You've never ignored your orders that way," Magnus stated matter of factly.

"And you've never used people that way either," Rodimus said.

"None of those thoughts were unknown to me though... It's not like I even realized I was dreaming..." Jazz said. His voice trembled with shame, and he still wouldn't look at them.

Rodimus and Ultra Magnus looked at each other behind Jazz's back. They had seen Jazz upset before; they'd seen him afraid on rare occasions. Neither had even seen him doubt himself though, ever. Magnus briefly wished he was better at handling this kind of thing, and Rodimus felt his anger at their objective being tempered into a still harder, colder fury he feared might destroy them all. He spent a minute swallowing his rage, knowing that it wouldn't help Jazz in the slightest right now, and put his arm around the trembling specialist. He led Jazz over to the nearest wall, and helped him get off his injured leg by lowering him gently to the floor. Whatever else he might have done or said was interrupted by the shifting lights, and the vision of himself in his office. Apparently, it was his turn. He sighed, having a very good idea what this meant. At least it would give Jazz a taste of what it REALLY meant to be over the edge. A grim smile played over his lips.

"You want to see my dark side, huh?" he whispered almost seductively to the air. "Get a good look then. I'm coming for you."

"What was that Rodi?" Magnus asked.

"Nothing," Rodimus said, reaching out to touch the hologram as it came to him.

_It was all very simple really Rodimus thought to himself. Galvatron WAS easy to manipulate after all. Rodimus had fed the Decepticons enough false information to send them rampaging right into a Jabez installation. They were slaughtered, of course, or at least the lucky ones were slaughtered. Several were probably taken alive... Rodimus laughed at the thought of it._ _The important thing was that he had also managed to make it look like the Decepticon attack was an act of QUINTISON betrayal. Now he was gleefully reading reports of an overwhelming invasion of one of the few remaining Quint strongholds. _

_Silver Bolt and Jazz stood solemnly before him - reporting intelligence he already had by other, heh, less honorable means. How he enjoyed pretending to know nothing of this, to nod grimly with them that this was a fate even their enemies didn't deserve. Oh no! Delightful, really, to play with them. Just as he had when Ultra Magnus met that TERRIBLE death in that reactor core. How they'd tried to comfort him - there was nothing he could have done of course, to save that humorless asshole. Nothing anyone could have done to save him after Rodimus had pushed him in to see if a fusion reaction was enough to get Magnus to loosen up at last. How Rodimus had laughed when he'd seen Magnus' body running in melted rivers. Guess it was enough after all. Of course, Rodi's face had been an impeccable mask of tortured grief by the time the others had come running. Heh._

_He nearly giggled again at the memory, but that wouldn't have been "in character" for a concerned Autobot commander hearing tragic news. Nothing on his face betrayed his thoughts; it wouldn't be any fun if they discovered his game too soon. But, ooh, what he was going to do to each and every one of them... OOPS! Better get his mind off tantalizing plans for the future and back on their dry report. _

_The Jabez didn't take the Quints too seriously, sending in a few million class eight or nine Converts when a solitary class one telekenetic could have leveled the whole asteroid in a matter of minutes. Nah...you saved Converts like that for real threats. Thousands of mutant Converts would die in the battle, but they were an insignificant portion of the whole, Jazz reported. Like duh.... Neither the Jabez, nor their Sponsors took insubordination lightly.... _

_Then again, neither did he. When they left, he grinned, and turned to go into the secret room behind his office to talk to Optimus. Optimus hadn't entirely supported Rodi's decision to wipe out the Decepticons and the Quints, but Rodimus had managed to convince him to let the plan go forward. Optimus was now waiting for further discussions. The others thought Optimus had gone off on some undisclosed mission, but only he and Rodimus knew the real truth. His partner still wasn't too pleased with him, but heh, who cared? Which reminded him... he needed to think of a suitable tragic demise for his partner... a real tear-jerker, heh. Hmmm._

"_Hiya Op! How's it hanging?" Rodimus said as he entered the sound-proof room. He giggled as though this were the funniest thing he'd ever uttered._

_Optimus, strung upside down on the wall by his motor cables, couldn't speak very loud, so Rodimus crouched down beside Optimus' mangled face and cocked his head to listen. You had to make allowances for the old guy after all, especially when most of his outer housing had been removed so that Rodimus could play with his neural fibers._

"_Rodimus... you've gone completely mad... let me go... you need help..."_

_Rodimus put on an aghast face, as if he were actually listening to what Optimus said. "By the Matrix! What have I done?! Optimus! I... I'm sorry. I'll cut you loose! I must be out of my mind!" Internally he celebrated his own acting prowess. He was just TOO good to be believed! He stood up and actually fumbled at some of the torturous restraints, causing his partner great pain in the process. Prime couldn't really see what he was doing, and thought for a moment Rodimus was really going to release him until Rodimus started blatantly plucking and strumming on his cables as though they were some kind of musical instrument. Rodimus hummed as he did so, and laughed again._

"_HA! Made you look! Hey! You're out of tune!" he told his desperate partner, "but I can fix that!" Rodimus proceeded to haul on Optimus' cables to pull them tighter. Optimus screamed. "Oh yeah!" Rodimus yelled. "Hey Optimus! I think I should make a recording of this! You're a natural! I think we have finally discovered your hidden musical talent. Sing for me!" He pulled harder on the cables and listened to Optimus bellow. "It's a rare person who can be the singer AND the instrument!" Rodimus said, dancing around. He looked like a deranged marionette._

"_Why...?" Optimus finally managed._

_Rodimus knelt down beside him again, and smacked his partner lightly on the face. "Oh come on now, Optimus," he said, stroking Op's cheek with one energon-covered finger, "you kept asking what the Jabez did to me... now you're gonna find out first hand. I just came to the realization that the solution to all my worries was to not care anymore. See how easy that makes things? Besides, you saddled me with the Matrix... you fucked up my life. The least you can do is sing me a song now and then." He reached up and twanged another cable, smiling a twisted version of Hot Rod's gleeful grin as he did. "Just wait, OLD FRIEND, I plan to teach you EVERYTHING..." He laughed, and laughed...._


	3. Chapter 3

**Maelstrom 4**

**Tunnels: Part 3**

Author's note: This story is part of a LONG series called Maelstrom. It is strictly Gen. 1 - sorry, but that was all that was out when I started writing back in the late 1980's. It began as a fan-publication so the first chapters are in the form of a comic book! If you have not read the nine original **Maelstrom Comics** and the preceding text stories, I strongly suggest you do. This is a complex universe. They can be found at http// illmatar. deviantart. com (I have put double spaces between the addy here or FF . Net eats the link.) The comics and art which accompanies this series are there...and believe me I am a better artist than writer.

**Most chapters of this series contain strong language and violence. Rated M for adult themes! Really! Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. Critiques adored!**

Rodimus came out of the dream and shook his head with a sigh. He was upset but not really surprised. He'd faced this side of himself before. He pressed his fingers to his temples, feeling an impossible ghost of a human headache. Now he just had to face his friends. He turned slowly to look at them and was not surprised at their horrified expressions. Jazz looked too far gone to even speak, his face still revealing the stresses of his own nightmare compounded by this new revelation. He seemed to have withdrawn almost completely. Magnus drew himself up and looked grimly at his young commander.

"You don't seem too upset by this," Magnus said - it wasn't quite an accusation - yet.

"Once I realized what this room was going to throw at us, I knew what I would face," Rodimus said softly. His voice held neither defensiveness nor apology. He was simply stating the facts.

"How?" Magnus asked simply.

"Well, lets just say Lancer had her hands full when she rescued me, OK?" Rodimus said, not caring to get more into it than that right now. He was "spared" further conversation by the room activating its projectors again. Magnus looked up sharply, and met Rodi's optics.

"I don't know what I'm going to face," he said, with a slight spreading of his hands.

"It's just a dream, perhaps a dream with some shade of truth, but not the real truth," Rodimus said. Magnus nodded and visibly steeled himself, and stepped into the hologram.

_It was time for his weekly inspection of Metroplex and the surrounding grounds. Of course, he had his optics on things all the time, but with the extra duties Rodimus had placed on him, he was down to one thorough inspection a week. He started finding some mistakes, and ground his jaws in irritation, they must have been thinking he was getting soft...._

_When he walked into the command center, he found Blaster with his feet up on the console. "Hey, Boss!" the communications officer began. He never got to finish his insolent greeting. Ultra Magnus started by grabbing Blaster's throat and didn't stop punching until Blaster was an unrecognizable pile of smashed circuitry. Magnus turned and started laying plans. Starting with the overthrow of his undisciplined superiors, he'd turn the Autobots into a real force to be reckoned with..._

_FLASH_

_Magnus entered the conference room and paused for a minute by the door listening to the foolish bickering. Couldn't either of these two just make a decision without nattering about it for hours first? He knew Rodimus would scan him for Conversion automatically, and smiled grimly to himself. He hadn't been Converted - he'd just come to his senses. He let them welcome him as always, and then struck. Even Rodimus' assassin's skills couldn't protect him from the effects of a photon grenade at close quarters...._

_FLASH_

_Magnus ruled over his people with a firm hand... really firm. They needed it. The army he controlled contained both Autobots and Decepticons who took to his leadership without complaint. After all, they were used to it. Besides, they knew what he did to those that dissented. On Earth there was peace. Magnus' peace. No more petty wars or crimes. No bulky, inefficient bureaucracies. No courts. No chaos. No time consuming levity. There was only one sentence for any crime of course... death. Both Earth and Cybertron bristled with the toys of war and no one had the audacity to challenge him. Those that had, well, they had no place in his perfect order did they? He stood over his army, once again reviewing his troops. They marched by and saluted in perfect formation. Perfect that was, until Arcee and Springer passed by as they marched in the ranks. Arcee threw him a quick, fearful glance as she went by him, a punishable offense in and of itself, but then she had the audacity to stumble. _

_The marching troops were undisturbed by the sudden flash of his rifle and the smoking corpse that fell amongst them. They merely trampled Arcee's body without acknowledging it - to do so would have brought a similar death on them. All but one... Springer gave a guttural, anguished cry, unleashing all his grief and more. Years of repressed emotion vented into one suicidal attack. Still screaming, Springer launched himself at Magnus, who simply brought up his gun... and fired...._

Magnus came out of the dream with a shuddering gasp. Rodimus left Jazz's side and came over to his.

"Am... am I that bad?" Magnus said in a hushed whisper. He was trembling a little.

"Only if Jazz is a manipulative asshole, and I'm a complete psycho," Rodimus said softly, without a hint of humor. He touched Magnus' arm briefly.

"But... but you said you weren't surprised... Rodimus this FELT like me!"

"Yeah man..." Jazz finally whispered, "That's the problem. That was no stranger that looked like me! That WAS me!"

"Yes," Rodimus agreed, "and that crazy bastard was me too. The difference being that I've known he was there all along, or at least since the Jabez had me. That doesn't mean that's all there is to me though! That side of me is there, maybe it always has been, and it's something I have to watch out for. That doesn't mean I'm going to string Optimus up and torture him any time soon! Knowing what I'm capable of just means I have a better chance of avoiding it, and the same applies to you two!"

"But... I do put a lot of stock on discipline." Magnus said, holding his body at taut attention as he always did when stressed. He seemed to realize this and flinched in panic, not knowing what to do with his body anymore.

"And I spend a lot of time wishing I were somewhere else partying." Jazz's entire posture spoke of shame. It sickened Rodimus to see his friends shaken to their cores in this way.

"Yeah, you're right. You're both hopelessly corrupt. I'd better throw you both in detention right now! Don't you see? This is what these rooms were designed for! They take the truth and warp it to make you doubt yourself! If you keep this up, you'll really go nuts! All of us have our dark sides. Magnus, maybe you do need to lighten up once in a while, but we are at war! Efficiency and discipline ARE important. Jazz, maybe you do need to worry about your image a little less, but if wishing you were doing something else now and then is a crime, then they need to lock us BOTH up!"

"I think you can safely say that applies to all three of us right now," Magnus said dryly.

"See, you're learning to be sarcastic already! Look. The door's open. That's our cue." Rodimus said lightly while Magnus pulled Jazz to his feet.

They didn't take much obvious comfort in his words, nor in the fact that the far door had finally opened. The three of them approached it with far more caution than the last time, none of them in a hurry to see what was in store. Magnus and Jazz could feel the fury radiating off of their young commander, and suddenly wondered how contained that laughing psychotic really was. It didn't help matters one bit.

Jazz stopped, looking distressed, just inside the threshold. "You won't let me get like that? Will you?"

"Jazz, it was just a dream," Rodimus said, distraught at how rattled Jazz still seemed to be.

"Yeah, but if I ever start to really act like that you'll stop me, won't you?" Jazz's voice had a desperate edge to it.

"Maybe we should swear on it," Magnus said, looking to Rodimus for support.

Rodimus sighed. He hated to give these damned hallucinations that much credence, but he could see the lingering fear in Magnus' face as well.

"Yeah. Maybe we should," he said at last. "All right. I promise to keep an optic on you both, and to smack some sense into you the very instant I see you acting like jerks, although to be honest, I would have done that anyway. You are also going to keep your optics on me and each other, and are hereby sworn to deliver similar smacks to whomever needs it. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Magnus said solemnly, although he rolled his optics at Rodi's irreverent phrasing.

"Deal," Jazz said, and seemed to collect himself. They shook hands on it, and turned to face the next trial.

The next two rooms took them on painful trips to their pasts. The first memories were painfully hard to endure.

_Jazz heard the sounds of merriment inside, but held back. He often avoided such things...until he saw one too many friends die unfulfilled...._

_Magnus decided to blow off another stupid training mission which turned fatally real - his presence might have made the difference between the life and death of three Autobots - and ended up the most rigid disciplinarian in Autobot history...._

_Hot Rod jumped recklessly on Megatron, got Optimus killed, and spent the rest of his life trying to make up for it....._

The next memories were painfully hard to leave.

_Jazz cruised the streets of LA, and was enraptured by all he saw. Megatron and Co. had vanished beneath the ocean, and Jazz had a whole new planet to enjoy. It was only a matter of time before the Autobots returned home victorious, but for now Jazz had a few days to appreciate the planet they were on now. He turned a corner, drawn by the sounds of a street corner band and for the moment, this world seemed perfect._

_Magnus overlooked his new post with pride, knowing it could very well turn this war around. Metroplex stood shining in the valley beneath him - -its towers new and flawless. His... he had earned it... and it was perfect._

_Hot Rod laughed as he tore heedlessly through the desert. Three whole days of freedom! Three! He spun out for the thrill of it, gleeful that there was no one there to even nag him about the wear to his tires. He was free! Things couldn't have been more perfect!_

It took Rodimus the longest to pull up out of this last dream.

"Rodi? Rodimus?" Jazz shook his leader hard, then even harder. "It's not real man! Let it go! You aren't a kid anymore!"

Rodimus finally responded enough to look at him. "Jazz...?" He said, blinking in confusion. His face had the hurt disappointment of a child shown some magical treat which is then cruelly snatched away. He suddenly straightened, and the look vanished as if it had never been. There was another brief instant where his face crumpled in the fury he'd been displaying on and off, but it was stifled just as fast. He stalked off towards the next open door without a word, leaving Jazz and Magnus staring at each other.

The following room was hard on both Jazz and Magnus as well - they both had to confront their most terrified moments on and off the battlefield, but having survived these moments once, this room had less impact on them than the others. They stood calmly by the door, waiting for Rodimus to get his turn over with. Rodimus got one glimpse of the image forming for him and balked.

"No," he said, refusing to touch the image.

"Rodimus, you have to! We'll never make it otherwise!" Magnus said. Rodi's reluctance surprised him - the young Prime had seemed so impatient to be done.

"I don't want you to see this." Rodimus said tightly. "Go back. I'll do the rest of this alone."

"Like hell you will!" Jazz said with an unusual amount of force. "We've come this far! There's no way we're gonna punk out now! If you think we're gonna leave you here to face this alone you're out of your mind!"

"Yeah. You've seen how out of my mind I am and you're about to see how I got that way! Then maybe you can join me! No way! Go back to the surface! That's an order!"

Jazz and Magnus looked at each other, then back at Rodimus. Neither of them moved an inch. Jazz shook his head and stared at Rodi as if he'd completely lost it.

"Rodi, you are a hopeless case, man!"

Magnus simply crossed his arms in front of his chest as if daring Rodimus to try to make him budge. Rodimus turned his back on the hologram to argue with them. The image shifted forward to engulf him. The others saw it coming but didn't warn him, and as it touched him it tore his terrors out into the open. What they saw would leave them far more horrified than their own, personal trials. The images came in random, garbled flashes – as if Rodi himself didn't remember too clearly. Which, given the nature of the memories, was probably the case.

The first thing to hit them was the sound. It built slowly to audio-destroying proportions. A ragged shriek of pure, refined agony rebounded around the room, and it was plainly NOT coming from Rodimus. The image fragmented until they were surrounded by a single anguished face.

Goldbug. Goldbug. Goldbug. Over and over they saw him - every time in some unspeakable agony. They stood, trembling witnesses to the desecration of their friends - for they saw Rodimus torn apart as well - in some cases literally.

They saw Rodimus and Goldbug dissected awake.

They saw them burned, electrified, poisoned, and mutilated.

They saw several batches of humans get their heads cored out for Conversion.

They saw Rodimus turned human, and the unimaginable torment that followed.

They saw Goldbug turned human - only to suffer even worse torture than Rodimus.

They saw Goldbug's shoulders break, and Rodimus' final descent into madness.

The images poured by them for over twenty minutes. The periods when Rodimus was human were strange and very vivid, and the imaging system seemed to falter and struggle with the images. Magnus and Jazz were transfixed by what they were seeing.

Jazz didn't even sit down to rest his leg and moaned in horror when things got particularly bad. The times when the humans were Converted particularly bothered him. He couldn't stand to think of what they had done to Goldbug, or what Rodimus must have felt about it. He couldn't imagine such cruelty - and he thought of himself pretty realistic when it came to such things. The rage which boiled from within him was a completely alien feeling for him. He'd never felt anything like it before, and he wasn't enjoying it. He didn't know how to deal with it and then realized with a start that this is what Rodimus must feel on a daily basis.

Magnus made no sound at all while watching the images flash by. He didn't move a servo during the entire show. He stood there, memorizing what he saw. Lots of it went by too fast for him to really make sense of, but he memorized it anyway for future analysis. Part of him wanted to look away - he certainly didn't want to live with this knowledge. However, he didn't know how else to respond. Whether he looked or not, these things had happened to Goldbug and to his young commander. He couldn't ignore them, and maybe he could find something to use, something Rodimus had missed because he couldn't be as objective as Magnus. The city commander shuddered as he watched the Jabez pour acid into Rodi and Goldbug's fuel lines, and realized he probably couldn't stay all that objective either.

Rodimus himself stood - palms up in supplication, optics green and mad, and mouth working as if he were screaming too. He was silent. It wasn't until the last image of Goldbug's breaking shoulders began repeating itself that they suddenly realized to their further horror that they had let Rodimus relive this trauma for all this time. Guilt-stricken, they realized they should have tried to bring him out sooner instead of watching. Unsure of what his reaction would be, Ultra Magnus decided it would be safest to restrain Rodimus. He grabbed Rodimus by the arms and picked the smaller robot up to shake him. Rodimus writhed in his grasp - his wild green optics showing no signs of recognition, even though the room finally quit projecting. Magnus was amazed at the amount of strength Rodimus was exhibiting, yet there seemed to be a certain point where the writhing stopped. There was no danger he would break free from Magnus because he was bound by something far stronger - his memories of captivity. His eerie silence gave Jazz the surges, and Magnus wondered for one terrible moment what they would do if Rodimus never "came back".

"Rodimus, it's just us!" Magnus said. He was beyond heart-sick at what he'd just seen, and from the expression on Jazz's face, the specialist was equally upset. Probably more, Magnus reflected. Jazz had been close friends with Goldbug too, while Magnus had been little more than a polite acquaintance to the little spy. Magnus shuddered. He'd always somehow felt that Bumblebee's innocent cheerfulness was somewhat of a liability in a war. He wished he had been more wrong. Not knowing what else to do, they both kept talking to Rodimus, trying to bring him back. When he finally did come around Magnus couldn't tell if it was due to their efforts or if the fit just suddenly passed.

Rodimus sagged in his grasp, and said, "Put me down, Ultra Magnus." His voice was entirely too calm. Magnus complied carefully, and the three of them stood staring awkwardly at each other. Rodimus couldn't bear to think about what they'd just seen. He turned away and spent a few moments roping himself in.

Jazz took a hesitant step toward him, and then thought better of it. He looked at Magnus silently, asking with his optics for advise. Magnus only shrugged helplessly. What could either of them say or do? What had happened to their young commander was beyond both of their experiences. They waited while Rodimus calmed down. From Rodi's point of view, relaxing took a lot longer than usual. From their point of view, it was amazing he calmed down at all.

Rodimus went through the relaxation regiment Lancer had taught him, and forced his body to lose its tension. Internal diagnostics told him he'd strained cables all over his body. He wished it was as easy to settle his mind. He felt his anger at Vector Sigma become something he could no longer name. They knew. They'd SEEN it. He knew only too well what they must be feeling about what happened to Goldbug, and he blamed Vector Sigma for putting two more of his people in the lab with him. This was yet another wrong which could never be righted. His two friends would never forget what they had seen and there was absolutely no reason they should have had to see it.

Then he remembered something else. They shouldn't have seen it anyway... he'd ordered them to leave... and suddenly his fury had targets close at hand. Whirling like a cornered snake, Rodimus lashed out.

"YOU INSUBORDINATE ASSHOLES! I SHOULD HAVE YOU BOTH COURT-MARTIALED! HOW DARE YOU IGNORE A DIRECT ORDER!?"

"We couldn't let you face this alone!"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'VE BEEN DOING ALL THIS TIME? I FACE THOSE MEMORIES EVERYTIME I SHUT DOWN, WITH NO HELP FROM EITHER OF YOU! I HANDLE IT EVERY DAY! WHAT I CAN'T HANDLE ARE PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY CAN PICK AND CHOOSE THEIR FUCKING ORDERS!"

"Our orders were to accompany and protect you, and we ARE following them!" Magnus stated. Magnus' very posture was an unsubtle challenge for Rodimus to find a weakness in that argument. The City Commander was entirely sick of Rodimus' continuous habit of trying to do everything alone. He understood the emotional motivation, but didn't regard that as any excuse. Rodimus glared at him with blazing, furious optics. Jazz came up to him and took a big risk by putting a hand on Rodi's arm.

"We're OK, Rodimus. We can handle it too." the specialist's voice held nothing but compassion for what he sensed was the real source of Rodi's outburst. "You don't have to worry so much about us. That's why you agreed on us... because we can handle it Man."

Rodimus clamped up. He wanted to scream at them that this wasn't what he had in mind and that there was still more in store for them, but he didn't. What difference would it make? They had already seen it. Nothing would ever erase it, not even the fury. As for the rest, they would find out soon enough. So he did what he always did. He suppressed the rage and saved it for a moment when its release would be useful for something. The damage he did to himself in the process didn't bother him. His optics lost none of their rage, but he turned and headed for the door, even as it opened. He said nothing more to them, and they just shook their heads at each other and followed him.

The next room was dim, and their usual exploration turned up the usual nothing. They stood around for a while, waiting for the "show" to start. After about a half hour Rodimus finally sat down. The emotional strain was wearing him down, as was the additional shielding he had put up to protect... to keep all this pain contained. Jazz and Magnus held out for a while. Jazz spent a while scanning the room using all sorts of different techniques. He even tried to improvise a sort of ultra-sound by playing loud bursts of music into the walls, and listening for echoes. Magnus ended up checking the room for structural weakness in his own way by kicking all the walls in turn. Then he paced.

Rodimus watched them with a sort of dim emotional detachment, and wondered vaguely why they bothered. For some reason it didn't surprise him when Jazz hung his head sadly, and slid down against the door. Nor was he surprised to see Magnus simply stop, mid-stomp, look around helplessly, and sit tiredly against the wall opposite Rodimus. They all tried to deal with all they'd just experienced alone. Nobody saw any sense in talking about it.

_Rather stupid, Jazz realized, to think he could make some kind of a difference. What good would he be against the Jabez when a simple hologram cracked his cool entirely? His slick tricks hadn't won the war against the Decepticons, what good would they be against the Jabez? Hell, even Rodimus could fool him, pretending everything was fine when he'd been through such hell, and Jazz had fallen for it. He'd never even suspected what they'd done to Goldbug, and he'd asked Rodimus about the fate of their friend personally. Rodi had made Goldbug's likely demise seem like an accident. If he'd fallen for THAT load of slag, then how smart could he be? It wasn't as though Converts were impressed by your moves, however cool they were. They just kept coming until they killed you, or you were forced to kill them. Not to mention how blind he'd been to his own manipulative nature... He was as bad as the Jabez, really... and how he loathed himself for it. Stupid. Couldn't even keep his own foot out of a stupid booby trap. REALLY smooth, Mr. Cool! Stupid and pointless. He couldn't help himself, let alone anyone else, so why even bother?_

_Magnus sat with his back rigid against the wall. Jazz seemed sad, and Rodimus seemed very far away. He wondered, briefly, what this room had in store, and suddenly felt very tired himself. He found himself once again questioning his need for protocol and discipline. Did it really make him a good officer? Or was it just a power trip? Rodi's comforting words just a few hours ago now rang very hollow to Magnus. Had the young Prime been sincere? He had seemed to be, but then this was the same person who hid so much for so long... How could anyone believe anything he said? Magnus glared at Rodimus, who was apparently oblivious. It wasn't as though his adherence to military codes had made much of a difference. He thought bitterly of his initial pride in Metroplex, and how he had hoped it would tip the scales in their favor under his direction. It hadn't, and now they faced an enemy against whom Metroplex was practically useless. An enemy they dared not confront openly. An enemy which employed elusive, living weapons which had been slipping by what he had felt were impenetrable defenses for years. YEARS! And he, the military genius, had been oblivious. Even when they'd found a ship full of floating corpses, he hadn't figured it out... and even when Rodimus had finally explained it to him, he'd still been too dense to figure out just how bad it really was... He was worse than misguided... he was incompetent... corrupt... inept... useless...._

_Rodimus felt his exhaustion even more keenly than usual. Fucking waste of time and energy, that's what this was. Going down through trials he couldn't handle, to confront a creator which didn't care, to fight an enemy he couldn't defeat. Brilliant. Really "Rodimus", where did you pull this slag out of? Stupid name. Rodimus Prime. Even sounded stupid. What did it mean anyway? Nothing. How appropriate. Couldn't even keep his friends from seeing the damned Jabez torture Goldbug - not to even mention how he'd failed to protect Goldbug... Couldn't even think about Lancer anymore... See? Just that little slip put a crack in the shield. He knew he should do something to fix it, but he just couldn't motivate himself...._

_**RAGE.....**_

Rodimus suddenly stiffened where he sat. The feeling was like a splash of icy water on warm, human skin.

_**FURY...DISBELIEF....BETRAYAL...**_

Rodimus knew these feelings weren't really his... they were coming through the breached shield, and they cut through his lethargy like a laser... like a lance. What had he been thinking, letting the wall crack that way!? It was then he recognized the function of this chamber. He took an instant to throw new energy on the shield wall, and felt the rage cut off. He stumbled drunkenly to his feet and then he turned his attention to his despairing friends. Magnus was staring blankly into space with his legs stretched out in front of him and his hands slack by his sides. On the other wall, Jazz had his knees drawn up to his body and his head hidden in his arms. Rodi lunged towards Magnus, who was closer.

"MAGNUS! Get UP! We need to get out of here!" Rodimus said desperately. Magnus didn't even turn his head. Rodimus began shaking and pummeling him, but didn't feel much better when all he got was an incoherent groan. Magnus made a feeble attempt to push away Rodimus' hands.

"Magnus? This room is trying to get us to give up! You have to get up! Magnus you can't give in to it! You can't just quit!" Nothing. No response at all this time. Magnus might as well have been inanimate. Rodimus had a renewed insight into Lancer's frustration with him during his catatonic days... and oh, how he hated being ignored. Rodimus felt the despair starting to creep up on him again, but instead decided to get angry.

"Magnus get UP! That's an order! Are you going to disregard orders TWICE in one day? What's your excuse this time?" This abuse got a slightly louder incoherent groan, and Magnus gave him a faintly disgusted look before turning away again. Rodimus decided it was time for extreme measures. "GET YOUR LAZY BEHIND OFF THE FLOOR, SOLDIER! HAS YOUR MIND GONE TO SLAG? I SAID _**MOVE!**_ " Rodimus pulled Magnus' unresisting body forward and gave him a sharp kick on the backside. Magnus was under the room's influence, but he wasn't dead yet and NO ONE kicked the City Commander in the ass and got away with it.

"HEY!" Magnus roared, surging to his feet.

Rodimus smirked, triumphant, but knew they didn't have time to waste. "Help me with Jazz!"

"YOU KICKED ME!"

"OF COURSE I KICKED YOU! I did what it took to get you off the floor! This room is feeding our despair! NOW HELP ME WITH JAZZ BEFORE I KICK YOU AGAIN!" Magnus stomped angrily but at least he moved. They each simply grabbed one of Jazz's arms and pulled him to his feet. The door opened. They hurried through, dragging Jazz like a metal scarecrow. The whining scrape of his feet on the floor was enough to bring him around.

"That is NOT a good sound, man," Jazz muttered vaguely. "Hey!

What's goin' on?"

"Don't ask," said Magnus, throwing Rodimus a scowl. He was still angry about the kick, but Rodi was obliviously inspecting the next room again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Maelstrom 4**

**Tunnels: Part 4**

Author's note: This story is part of a LONG series called Maelstrom. It is strictly Gen. 1 - sorry, but that was all that was out when I started writing back in the late 1980's. It began as a fan-publication so the first chapters are in the form of a comic book! If you have not read the nine original **Maelstrom Comics** and the preceding text stories, I strongly suggest you do. This is a complex universe. They can be found at http// illmatar. deviantart. com (I have put double spaces between the addy here or FF . Net eats the link.) The comics and art which accompanies this series are there...and believe me I am a better artist than writer.

**Most chapters of this series contain strong language and violence. Rated M for adult themes! Really! Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. Critiques adored!**

Once again they were face with the same kind of chamber and Rodimus was getting very sick of it. He was starting to wonder if they were ever going to run out of rooms. Jazz came out of his despondency quickly enough once they were through the doorway but Rodimus could see the lingering effects on both of their faces.

The lights flickered in that dreaded, familiar way, and they weren't sure whether or not to be grateful this room wouldn't be a repeat of the last. Rodimus once again noticed himself as the subject and once again balked. It was his human self and the small female shadow next to it was no Autobot. He would rather face the despair. He couldn't do this. He'd already violated the shield once already and that fissure wasn't even fully sealed yet.

"Uh-uh. No fucking way. You don't get THIS part of me you fucking piece of shit," he muttered under his breath.

Magnus looked at Rodimus, "You have to face these memories, or we'll never get out of here! It can't be worse than... than what the Jabez did to you... to Goldbug... Can it?" Rodimus had seldom seen Magnus look so uncomfortable. He shuffled his feet and met Rodi's optics in fleeting glances.

"I can't! I just can't Magnus! What the Jabez did to me is over... I can deal with that... This isn't over, not really."

"We need to get out of here, Rod-man." Jazz said. The specialist's voice reflected his sympathy for Rodi's reluctance. They were all reeling from what they'd seen in themselves and each other but Rodi could also hear good old regular pain in Jazz's voice. That foot was leaking energon again and Jazz wasn't even trying to pretend he wasn't feeling it anymore. He leaned heavily on one of the walls and Rodimus was stuck by how tired the normally energetic Autobot seemed. Even a fairly minor wound like that could be life-threatening if he didn't replace the lost fuel soon. Magnus must have been thinking the same thing. He stepped closer to Rodimus supportively.

"Energon is becoming a real priority very quickly, Rodimus. You know that. We been down here longer than we planned already." Magnus knew an appeal to Rodimus' sense of duty was usually enough to motivate him.

"I won't be the only one who suffers for this," Rodimus said cryptically. He scowled and closed his optics. For a long moment the others thought he was still balking but he finally stepped forward. The room had him immediately.

As with the memories of the lab, these images were very random and distorted - Rodimus was obviously fighting to suppress as much as he could. The images that did come through were strangely vibrant however. The technical readouts they were all used to were totally absent. Magnus and Jazz sensed somehow that the imaging system couldn't really cope with Rodi's human memories, but was trying to make sense of them.

_FLASH: Lancer standing over him - "Listen you stubborn ass, it's cold, you're hurt, and we HAVE to keep moving! You've got to eat, or you're not going to make it. Rodimus gave her a set-jawed look which told them that was just fine with him. He was covered with stitches and rough bandages. _

'_I'm giving you three seconds to open that mouth or I'm doing it for you!" Lancer said firmly. Rodimus didn't budge. Lancer jumped him and began forcing food into his mouth while he fought her vainly._

_FLASH: Lancer quite literally dragging Rodimus along up one windswept sand dune after another...._

_FLASH: Lancer carefully re-stitching one of the deeper gashes on his chest - her face a mask of remorse when she couldn't help but hurt him... _

_FLASH: The two of them scaling an incredibly sheer rock face, with Rodimus grimly hanging onto Lancer's tail on more than one occasion...._

_FLASH: A hazy image of some incredible monster reaching after both of them. Lancer killing it with her frightening powers, and then struggling to recontain her demon._

_FLASH: Lancer's panicked face. "Breath! Rodimus! Damn it! Breath!" Rodimus coughed air back into his lungs. Lancer wrapped her arms around him comfortingly until he relaxed._

"_I was frightened," he said._

"_You had a nightmare," Lancer said._

"_No. I mean... I didn't want to die..." Rodimus said. His voice held a universe of sorrow._

"_Welcome back to the land of the living," Lancer said, gently brushing the hair out of his eyes._

"_Gee...Thanks." Rodi returned, with a faint version of his usual smirk._

The watching Autobots both realized they were starting to feel some sympathy for Lancer. She had been abrasive and even a little insulting during her stay, but they saw she had done the best she could for Rodimus, and understood only too well how difficult he often made things. Jazz sighed, and sat down as the images continued. Magnus shrugged to himself and sat down next to Jazz. This promised to be an interesting show.

_FLASH: Lancer beginning to teach Rodimus the fundamentals of her skills._

_FLASH: Rodimus teetering precariously on a tightrope over a sheer canyon. He yelped, and Lancer, looking on from the sidelines laughed._

"_I think I'm beginning to understand Silverbolt!" Rodimus muttered._

"_Walk!" Lancer said. She seemed far more amused than sympathetic._

"_What happens if I fall?" Rodimus wanted to know, thinking she had a plan to catch him._

_Lancer peered over the canyon's edge. "You'll make a small red smear on the rocks down there... and I'll miss you."_

_He threw her a disgusted glare. She smiled, and leapt OVER his head to land on the wire ahead of him. The impact toppled him and he grabbed the rope and dangled there, cursing._

Jazz's jaw dropped open. Magnus chuckled.

"What's so funny, Mags?" Jazz said indignantly, "He could have died!"

"He didn't. He LEARNED from it. It's no wonder he doesn't worry about the risks he takes in combat anymore! Look at what she put him through!" Magnus chuckled again.

Jazz shook his head. "And here I was thinkin' you had no sense of humor!"

The next images answered a few questions the Autobots had been asking since they'd found out about the link between Lancer and Rodimus but left them with even more questions. They saw Lancer hanging by her knees from a tree limb and tossing fruit down at Rodi. She fell and then went into wild panic shortly afterwards when they discovered their minds were linking. The imaging system suddenly flickered wildly as it tried to handle not only the view of the physical world, but the sudden mental onslaught of not one but two frantic minds. Lancer had apparently gone completely berserk when she found Rodi's mind in hers, and there were some horribly distorted images that made no sense to the watching Autobots. In the dreamscape, Rodimus' little human self had responded by vomiting in horror....

There was another flash and they saw one of his nightmares and her attempts to sooth him. There seemed to be a lot going on at the mental level as well, because the imaging system flickered back and forth between the physical world and some kind of intense, non-verbal conversation. There were images of Shellshock and the torture chamber for one thing.

_Suddenly Lancer stood up and started screaming at Rodimus. "You are in love with me? YOU! Are in love with ME?!" Lancer roared, and laughed madly. Her voice reverberated with the weird metallic tones of the demon. "Aren't you supposed to combat evil? Rodimus Prime, Autobot Commander? Aren't you SUPPOSED to abhor cruelty, viscousness, and blood-thirst?" she continued sarcastically. "AREN'T YOU?! Shouldn't you know it when you see it? HOW? HOW can you love me? HOW CAN YOU STAND THE SIGHT OF ME?!" She paused, her breath coming in harsh growls as she stared at him. He simply stared back-his mind too shocked to do anything else._

_Her white eyes narrowed. "THE LINK! I've corrupted you!" Rodimus heard her internal scream more clearly than if she'd shrieked it to the stars._

"_Corrupted me? How can you possibly have corrupted me when you aren't corrupt yourself? You've never fallen, Lancer! You've beaten it! And if you fall someday, it'll be because you let yourself! It's not inevitable! And if I fall it's because I let MYSELF. You can't do it for me!" He took a step towards her, but paused when she jumped back and hissed at him. He didn't want her to run off in that state. _

"_Lancer! An evil person wouldn't have rescued me! An evil person wouldn't have bothered to take care of me! An evil person wouldn't care if they corrupted me! An evil person wouldn't give a damn about me! And an evil person certainly wouldn't love me the way you do!" He stopped in surprise. He knew she loved him - he just wasn't sure how he knew. _

_This time though she really did cry out._

"_Lancer? Why? Isn't this a good thing?" Rodimus pleaded. Apparently not... she ran, leaving Rodimus to stare into the fire in an apathetic trance that made the despair they'd felt earlier look easy. Then, when Lancer had come running back to pull him out of it, they'd finally talked, and then she..._

Rodimus made a sound that seemed part moan, part growl. The imaging systems suffered massive distortions, and Rodimus seemed semi-aware of the real world. His body spasmed and he ground his teeth in rage. He was still apparently determined to fight this invasion with all he had and for a moment it looked as though he might succeed. Then the system stabilized and the images cleared up.

There were more images of them training together, interspersed with more and more signs of that intimate human familiarity that Autobots found so mystifying. They saw Rodimus kissing Lancer on several occasions and looked at each other in confusion. They had never really understood why humans did this - that Rodimus seemed to enjoy it REALLY baffled them. They had a good laugh at the times Lancer commiserated with Rodimus as she rubbed his shoulders. He was complaining about his mean teacher bruising and hurting him and she clucked with sympathy as she massaged the bruises SHE had inflicted.

Rodimus growled audibly and his friends SAW the images shift away from whatever followed as if wrenched. The images it settled on though were the clearest they'd seen since entering this chamber. Apparently Rodimus didn't have the strength or the need to supress them.

_FLASH - Rodimus sat in the darkness brooding over some of the things he'd seen while in Jabez hands. The version of the Matrix he'd seen them changing for yet another identical crystal. Then there were Lancer's memories of the computers in the heart of Maelstrom. She'd revealed these memories in all innocence - not realizing the extreme shock he would feel at seeing not one, but two identical copies of Vector Sigma, his creator. All of their creators. Autobots and Decepticons alike worshiped the super-computer as the source of their lives and identities. Now that he knew where it had come from, he quailed. Even thinking that the Quints had designed Vector Sigma didn't inspire the same revulsion as knowing it had been the Jabez. The Jabez, who manipulated so many worlds. The Jabez, for whom all other forms of life were mere tools, means to whatever end suited their whims. He wondered briefly what Vector Sigma knew of its origins. All the legends painted it as infallible, omniscient. He wondered if he should tell it of its true creators. He wondered if it would be afraid or if it would have a solution to protect them all._

_He smiled down at his sleeping mate when she stirred, probably disturbed by his worries. He stroked the smooth skin on her back, and she smiled in her sleep. She seemed so child-like and he felt the familiar need to protect her. He thought about their frequent fights about this attitude of his. She never wanted him to think he should protect her. She wouldn't even let him delude himself into thinking he could. Time would get her if nothing else did._

_Briefly, selfishly, he wished she'd been an Autobot, or that he'd been human-born. He hated the way she always threw their doomed relationship in his face and had a brief fantasy about what it would have been like if she'd been a female Autobot he could have built a real life with. He wondered then why Vector Sigma made so few females. Maybe even the Decepticons would have been happier and less likely to make war if they had partners to ease the loneliness. _

_Rodimus stiffened. Before his torture these were things he just accepted but now his cynical, calculating mind held on to the question of "why?" and began leading his imagination down dark paths he never dreamed existed. He began quaking with rage as things suddenly fell into place with such shocking ease that he knew there was no possibility he could be wrong._

_He took a cue from Lancer and started growling in his throat._

"_W... What is it?!" Lancer said, startled out of her sleep. She sat up confused. He was blocking her, but she hissed and started fanging in response to even the small fraction of his rage which got through. "Rodi? What's wrong?"_

"_I'm wrong! Everything is wrong! My whole fucking existence is wrong! All I've ever been taught! All I ever believed! It's a lie!"_

"_Rodi...? Let me in! What are you talking about?" Lancer said, sounding frightened._

"_No. I want to talk this out. I don't want your opinion swayed by my emotions. Maybe you can see a different answer to this equation."_

"_What equation? Rodimus what are you talking about?"_

"_Fact -Vector Sigma and the Matrix are of Jabez design._

_Fact -we know the Jabez hire others to do their dirty work on a regular basis, and I KNOW that it was a Quint using a Jabez designed teleporter which delivered me into their hands._

_Fact-Vector Sigma DESIGNS the personalities of ALL Transformers. Autobots and Decepticons alike... a truth we seem to blindly ignore even as we worship it._

_Fact - Every period of peace on Cybertron, no matter how stable it seemed at first, ended in resumed hostilities, usually when some new Decepticon leader with dreams of conquest appeared to cause trouble, or when some uncertain event occurred for which both sides blame the other._

_Fact - Never in history was there a time when one side had clear advantage over the other. We've both been up, we've both been down, but in every case there was always enough resistance to make things difficult. They never really crushed us and we never really subdued them. You've been bitching at me about that from the start. Your human wars come and go but at least they all eventually END. Someone always figures out a way to resolve the conflict. _

_Does this say anything to you?"_

"_Yeah. That you're all lousy fighters, and you need to improvise more instead of relying on the same solutions every time." Lancer said, with a faint smile to show she wasn't ENTIRELY serious._

"_You're right! Why is that? Why is it in all these MILLIONS of years we haven't figured that out for ourselves? Even I never strayed THAT far from what was expected, and I'm supposed to be some radical, young hot-head! What's the matter with this picture?"_

_Lancer sat looking at him seriously, frowning in concentration. She thought about it a long time._

Jazz and Magnus looked at each other. Jazz was sitting on the floor to rest his leg. They didn't know where their human-holographic leader was headed either, but were starting to feel vaguely but deeply disturbed by what he was saying.

_Lancer finally shook her head. "I'm not sure what your getting at, but you are right. It's gone on too long to be a coincidence. Do you think the Jabez have been manipulating events on your world like they do on ours? It's possible, although I don't ever remember them showing interest in Cybertron before you were taken."_

"_Not the Jabez, Lancer. Vector Sigma."_

"_Oh..." Lancer's voice trailed off as she thought about it. She pressed her lips together, but that didn't stop a faint snarl from emerging as she went through the same seamless revelation. "You're right," she said. There was no room for doubt in her voice. "To what end though?"_

"_Oh, that's simple enough." Rodimus said bitterly. "It gave us the sentience and rebelliousness to fight off the Quints so that they couldn't use it anymore, and it manufactured enough lies and conflicting personalities to keep Cybertron in such a state of chaos that most other races were afraid to go there until recently. I think we are a living shield, Lancer. I think our wars, our pain, our very lives are merely to make it nearly impossible for anyone, Quints and Jabez included, to get to Vector Sigma." He turned away from her and hunched down, hugging his knees. "It was all for nothing. All those lives that were lost, all those eons of war, famine, and hatred - all for nothing. _

_Great Cybertron! What Optimus alone suffered! I can't even blame the Decepticons! They didn't choose their personalities anymore than I did! We're all just little puppets dancing to the tune of whichever of our "masters" happens to have the strings at the moment. At least the Jabez are honest about it and kill off your personality first! At least Converts don't go around deluding themselves that their real people with free will."_

"_Rodimus! Is that what your thinking? That you aren't real?" Of COURSE you're real! You've just been used in yet another disgusting fashion! That doesn't reflect on you!"_

"_Nothing I was ever taught was valid! Lancer, even the Matrix is Jabez design!"_

"_Rodimus! That doesn't cheapen what it is OR what you and the Autobots are! That VALIDATES what you are! The fact that your people can take a Jabez manufactured memory crystal and shape it into such a powerful positive force... is nothing short of miraculous! The Jabez may have thousands of those things, but I guarantee none of them would have affected Unicron in the slightest! What would they do? Spout data at him? What about the hate plague? Do you think the memory crystals on the Maelstrom would cure that? They can't heal a paper cut! So, it didn't start off as a gift from heaven. So what? They fact is not only were your people CAPABLE of making it into something more, they DID make it into something more. And that is NOT the work of a race of puppets."_

"_But..." Rodimus said, "We've been under its delusions for so long."_

"_You aren't anymore. More proof that you're more than just a pawn in some sick game, Rodimus. Maybe Vector Sigma has been using your kind, but you are still capable of growth and change, and you sir, have just outgrown its control."_

_Rodimus smiled a little uncertainly, and Lancer sighed, trying to dispel the last of his doubts._

"_I wish you had been there with that Matrix of yours when I was possessed. I have a feeling things would have gone differently."_

_Rodimus gathered her to him and held her protectively. For once, she didn't challenge his need to do so, and leaned into him. He rested his chin on the top of her head. "You are so wise sometimes," he said softly._

"_No." she answered, "I just know a good thing when I see it."_

"_Me too, " he said huskily, staring at her._

"_No, " she tried to say, but he cut her off with a gentle kiss - cupping her chin with his fingertips. With his other hand, he grasped her waist and drew her closer._

"_I love you," he whispered._

"_And I love you, you silly Autobot," Lancer said with a smile. Whatever else passed between them went unspoken, at least verbally._

What came through next was even more distorted and incoherent than the rest of the jumble Jazz and Magnus were watching. The only memories which rivaled it were the human segments of Rodi's torture. They didn't get much in the way of a clear series of events as brief flashes of what was probably numerous encounters of a similar nature went by. What was clear to them was that Lancer's relationship with their leader was anything but plutonic.

"Oh man, he's gonna kill us for watchin' this," Jazz said. That didn't seem to deter him from staring however. Magnus agreed wholeheartedly but didn't turn away either.

The imaging system flickered again, convulsively. Once again Rodimus made a faint sound of protest, and once again the system seemed to rally to repress his returning consciousness.Magnus suddenly decided to end this - he couldn't stand to see the strain on Rodi's face - and tried to shake his dreaming friend awake. In spite of his best efforts (short of singing again) Rodimus remained unresponsive to the real world as the chamber once again took control. Magnus looked helplessly at Jazz for ideas.

"What are we going to do? I think it's hurting him this time. Really hurting him, I mean."

"I don't know, Major General. I'm not sure there's anything we can do. I'm more worried about what happens when he wakes up."

"When he wakes up?"

"Yeah, when he wakes up, and she's gone, and it breaks his heart all over again," Jazz said with sad resignation of the inevitable.

_FLASH: Lancer had Rodimus convulsing with laughter as she tickled him mercilessly._

_FLASH: They found a cavern near the equator to set up "house" in and placed Lancer's teleport belt on a big rock they dubbed "The Mantel". Lancer set it to alert them if anything viable came into range. They stood before it with Rodimus behind Lancer, his head on her shoulder and his arms wrapped tight around her. _

"_What are the odds that thing will sound off?" Rodimus asked._

_Lancer shrugged. "I have no idea. Probably infinitesimally small."_

"_Is it selfish of me to hope it never does?" he asked._

"_Yeah... but I'm selfish too," Lancer said._

_FLASH: They spent their days practicing, hunting, and generally enjoying each other. _

Magnus shook his head. "I haven't seen that boy smile so often since he turned up with the Matrix."

Jazz nodded. "Lancer seems like a different lady too. Magnus? Do you think they figured they'd never get home?"

"Yes - and I bet the idea that he could legitimately set aside the burden of his responsibilities made even being tortured almost worth it to Rodimus. Look at him. He's HAPPY."

_FLASH: Rodimus carefully and expertly combed and braided Lancer's hair._

_FLASH: They were in the midst of another love-making session when the alarm on Lancer's belt suddenly blared. They both jumped to their feet in alarm at the noise and then stood staring at it once again. Rodimus reached for Lancer's hand but she pulled back - straightening and staring at the belt with a white-eyed glare. Her face was set and emotionless._

_Rodimus grimaced, snatched the belt from the rock, and glared at it. His arm lifted as if to dash it to the ground and then froze. His eyes gleamed brightly - as if with unshed tears - and then he lowered his arm and his eyes. When he lifted them again to meet Lancer's eyes his face was as cold and set as hers. They stood facing each other - the Prime and the assassin. It was Lancer who turned away first. She started packing._

_FLASH: They finally got off the planet, landed in a backwater port, and spent a few days hunting slavers to get clothes and a suitable ship._

_FLASH: They made the most of their last night alone together before arriving on Cybertron..._

The final image disintegrated and became a blurry vision of an infinite plain with an impossibly high wall extending from horizon to horizon. The barrier was riddled with fissures and Rodimus stood before it, trying vainly to seal them. On the other side, a terrible storm blackened the sky and rent the air with lightning.

The image-Rodimus looked up and almost seemed to see them from _within _the hologram... He spoke only one word. "No."


	5. Chapter 5

**Maelstrom 4**

**Tunnels: Part 5**

Author's note: This story is part of a LONG series called Maelstrom. It is strictly Gen. 1 - sorry, but that was all that was out when I started writing back in the late 1980's. It began as a fan-publication so the first chapters are in the form of a comic book! If you have not read the nine original **Maelstrom Comics** and the preceding text stories, I strongly suggest you do. This is a complex universe. They can be found at http// illmatar. deviantart. com (I have put double spaces between the addy here or FF . Net eats the link.) The comics and art which accompanies this series are there...and believe me I am a better artist than writer.

**Most chapters of this series contain strong language and violence. Rated M for adult themes! Really! Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. Critiques adored!**

The room exploded along the walls with a shower of energy sparks. Magnus grabbed Rodimus' still form and pulled it to the ground on top of Jazz. The three of them huddled together until the violent surges passed. Rodimus pulled away from them violently before the final sparks hit the floor, and they both sat there on the floor, feeling far too awkward to say anything to him. They heard a repetitive sound, and realized it was the door to the chamber opening, as well as the doors to all the chambers which followed.

Rodimus turned, and started off - never once looking back to see if they followed. Magnus helped Jazz to his feet, and helped him walk. They grimly struggled to keep up. For the first time on this journey, Rodimus was not only not speaking to them, he seemed utterly oblivious to them. He didn't even make allowances for Jazz's injured ankle as he kept up his furious striding through the open chambers. On a hunch, Jazz stopped completely. Magnus did too, to make sure he was OK. Rodimus never looked back.

"Come on," Jazz said, he pulled away from Magnus' support and limped forward at almost a run. Magnus simply lengthened his strides, and soon they were once again abreast with their friend. Neither of them were surprised to be ignored. Rodi's head was down, and his optics were focused inward.

"Rod," Jazz said, "Rod-i-muss! Hey man! Jazz to Rodimus, hello?!" The specialist briefly wondered if the younger Autobot hadn't left a few more of his marbles behind back there_._ He reached out to touch Rodi's arm, and Rodimus whirled away like lightning. He stared blankly with his body tensed defensively before he suddenly seemed to recognize his friends. For the first time, they saw the haunting images of the holograms reflected in Rodi's expression for an instant. He looked tired, frightened, and sad. Mostly sad. Then the blank mask fell again, and he turned to keep going.

"STOP RODIMUS!" Magnus shouted in disbelief. This time Jazz actually did catch hold of his arm, and Rodimus whirled again, glaring so furiously that Jazz actually blanched.

"Cool it man! Don't hit me or anything stupid!" Jazz said in alarm. Magnus used the time to cut off the forward path. Rodi's face lost all trace of anger.

"I'm not going to hit you Jazz," he whispered. "Sorry." He turned as if to walk on again, and found the way blocked by Ultra Magnus. He frowned.

"With respect, Rodimus," Magnus said firmly, and gesturing at Jazz's leaking leg, "It's time to stop now."

".........." was all Rodimus could manage. His mouth worked uselessly. Then he nodded, and visibly reined himself in. Suddenly all business, he started setting up the portable alarm system they had with them. Jazz and Magnus couldn't decide whether to be amused or disgusted. After a moment's reflection, they both opted for disgusted.

"You really miss her don't you?" Jazz asked as he slid his back down the wall to sit again. The tools Rodimus held hit the floor with a echoing crash. Magnus looked around nervously. And to think, Rodimus was the one who had complained about their noisy feet all the way down.

Rodi tried to glare at them but didn't quite manage it, especially when they simply stared back at him. He shut his optics, sighed, and went back to setting up their security field, not wanting to face them or what they'd seen.

"Well? You do don't you?" Jazz asked. Magnus leaned on the wall, looking uncomfortable.

"Yes, " Rodimus said, still not looking at him, "of course I do."

"I don't understand you man, " Jazz said, with a shake of his head.

Rodimus looked a little hurt, "I love her, Jazz. Don't ask me to explain it."

Jazz shook his head, "Man, you've been listnin' to Kup too much. That's not what I meant. I just don't get how you could let her go. You had a chance that the rest of us will never be able to truly understand. She's the best thing that ever happened to you. She made you happy. Even after everything you went through she made you happy... and you let her just take off. Makes no sense, does it Major General?"

Magnus shook his head but said nothing. However, when Rodi turned his optics away Magnus did give Jazz an utterly disgusted glare for the "Major General" thing. Then he crossed his arms and looked at Rodi expectantly.

Rodimus glanced rapidly from Jazz to Magnus and back again. "Y... You mean that? You think she was good for me?" He was deeply surprised and just a little grateful. At that moment he looked very young. There was still a little of Hot Rod in there somewhere, still seeking approval he didn't expect to get.

"Don't you? You know even you deserve some happiness. You take this leader stuff too seriously sometimes. When the battle's over you don't go 'home' and live anymore. I think that's something you've forgotten how to do. There's time for everything and you just need to delegate more to us flunkies. Then you'd have time to remember what living's about. We can handle it, right Major General Mags?"

"The only thing I can't handle is that nickname Jazz." Magnus intoned in a voice fraught with peril. Jazz grinned and even Rodimus smiled a little.

"It wasn't my idea that she left. She was afraid her demon would corrupt me somehow. She was trying to protect me." Rodimus whispered. "It wasn't my position that got in the way really, except that in her eyes it only compounded the threat." He cast his optics down, or maybe looked into himself, "I couldn't convince her otherwise."

"She's still alive," Magnus asked, "isn't she?"

"Yeah. Look, I can't talk about this anymore, the shield is cracking, and I'm really t..." Rodimus stopped short mid-sentence. Jazz and Magnus waited... and waited. Jazz was about to ask Rodimus what was wrong, but stopped himself and leaned closer to Rodi. The younger Autobot wasn't just silent, he was absolutely still. They still didn't worry too much, they were starting to expect weird behavior from Rodimus, until they noticed his colors were slowly but distinctly fading.

Magnus pushed sharply at Rodi's shoulder a few times, and got neither resistance nor a response. "Damn it, Rodimus!" he snarled, trying to sound angry in case this was some kind of sick prank, but really only succeeding in sounding worried. Nothing. Magnus grumbled insults under his breath.

"You're not foolin' anyone Mags, so why don't you just come out and panic with me! What's wrong with him?!"

"Do I look like First Aid to you? How should I know? I've never seen anyone just shut off for no reason! What do you think is wrong with him?"

"I don't know! The only times I've seen anyone lose color like that was if they were getting ready to bite it!" Jazz said, his voice rising in frustration. They both considered the implications of that statement and REALLY started to panic.

"..ired," Rodimus finished as if he'd never stopped. He looked at their stunned, worried faces. "Well, it isn't that bad! I just don't want to talk about it! I'm entitled, you know!"

They just gaped at him for a long moment until Magnus finally spoke up, "Rodi, do you have any idea at all what just happened?"

"Yeah, between you and Vector Sigma, my so-called private life just got aired on network TV. Wreck-gar will be so disappointed he missed it!"

"No. After that." Magnus said, with that tight controlled voice he used when trying _not_ to kill someone. His hands clenched convulsively a few times.

"You and Jazz got nosy and I decided to take the fifth?" Rodimus snapped sarcastically. He paused, unsure of what they were gaping at him about. "What? What is your problem?"

"Rodimus, you shut down mid-sentence." Jazz said, "You went totally vegetable on us for two entire minutes."

Rodimus just blinked at them.

Magnus felt his worry crack his last bit of patience. "YOU BLACKED OUT! YOU EVEN LOST COLOR!"

Rodimus pressed his lips in disgust. He had no idea why they would lie to him but he was annoyed. "We don't have time to waste our energy on this. I need to tell you what's going on with Vector Sigma." That stopped the other two in their tracks - so much was happening so fast they were having a hard time deciding what to focus on. Magnus drew himself up to his full height and stood there, rigid and trembling with tension, while he reviewed the conversation he'd seen between Lancer and Rodi about their "Creator."

"_I'm wrong! Everything is wrong! My whole fucking existence is wrong!! All I've ever been taught! All I ever believed! It's a lie!" _Rodimus had said_. _Magnus stood poised like a bolt in a crossbow. If that vision proved true, he intended to hurt someone. Or rather, something.

Jazz wasn't sure what to think about what he'd seen in the hologram. He hoped it wasn't true, but as he felt the pain in his leg rise and ebb, he remembered Rodi's sarcasm earlier.

"_Sometimes," _Jazz had said_,"I think Vector Sigma doesn't like visitors."_

Rodimus had looked at him with that fuming, mysterious anger,_ "Really? Do ya think?" _

Looking back on this, Jazz bowed his head. He knew he needed to ask Rodimus if it was true that Vector Sigma had been using them, but he didn't want to. All the Autobots treasured their faith in their creator, and he was no different. From the look on Magnus' face, Magnus was already suffering the loss of that faith, and Jazz was reluctant to know the truth for sure. Being generally an easy-going soul, Jazz knew he wouldn't deal well with the searing rage that would come with the acceptance of this information. He remembered Rodi's warnings at the start of this journey, and wished he'd paid more heed to them. He didn't want to know this. He didn't want this anger in his life, and what he already felt for the Jabez was almost more than he could handle. If he had to feel it against Vector Sigma too...

Magnus took the situation out of his hands however. He leaned close to Rodi's face, and asked a cold, simple question. "Is it true?"

"Yes," came the equally cold answer.

Jazz wasn't ready to just accept this on the basis of a holographic conversation. "Are you really sure man? It could be a misunderstanding...."

Rodimus' optics narrowed. He hated to do this to them, which had been his argument with Optimus from the start. Jazz was pleading with him to deny reality. Anything but this terrible truth. The lies wouldn't save them though.

"I'm sure, Jazz. I checked for proof before ever deciding on this mission."

There was a moment of silence in respect for dying faith.

Magnus turned without a word and started heading down the tunnel. Rodimus didn't need to ask what he was doing - the clenched fists and tight, hunched posture told him more than he wanted to know.

"NO! Magnus! Stoppit! That's an order!" Rodimus shouted. He was desperate and incensed. Not since his earliest days of command had his orders been ignored so many times in a few days. "MAAGNUSSSS!" Rodimus roared and darted around in front of his maddened friend. Rodimus was used to Magnus' dark temper, but he had never seen such murderous determination on that face before. Rodi put his hands to Magnus' chest to stop him and found himself simply ignored. Even locking his legs had no effect, because Magnus just kept walking, pushing Rodi's lighter form backwards. The City Commander took no notice of his raging leader, even when Rodi's heels started causing sparks where they were being scraped across the floor.

"MAGNUS! You can't do this! We need the fucking thing! Magnus! I have a plan to use it! DAMN YOU! I thought you said you could handle this! You're acting like Grimlock on a tantrum!" He hopped back, turned away from Magnus slightly to hide his clenching fist, and belted Magnus straight in the face. Between Lancer's tactics, and Magnus' own momentum, it was one of the most powerful single hits Magnus had ever taken. Particularly right on the chin. Rodimus suddenly had Magnus' undivided attention, and his optics now oriented on Rodi with the same murderous determination. Rodimus used that focus to lead Magnus back towards Jazz.

"Fine, Magnus. Go ahead and hit me," Rodimus said, suddenly not retreating anymore. "And when the Jabez wipe us out because they have no further interest in leaving us alive, at least I won't be able to blame myself for it! Come on big guy! Let me have it! Why don't you go right ahead and kill me? If you go after Vector Sigma that way, you might as well. I don't want the Jabez to have me again."

Magnus froze, with his arm mid-air, and scowled. He wanted nothing more than to take the last few days frustration out on Rodimus' insolent face, but the fact that Rodi was literally asking for it took some of the fun out of it. It also made him stop to think a little. Jazz watched this entire spectacle calmly from the floor. He knew Magnus would never really hurt Rodi, even if Magnus himself didn't know it at the moment. Rodimus stood fearlessly in front of the seething City Commander, ready to take whatever came next. Magnus' legs were splayed slightly, his head was lowered, and his whole body trembled with coiled anger. He looked like a bull ready to charge. And he did, but not at Rodimus.

Jazz and Rodimus both winced at the sound when Magnus suddenly turned and smashed both of his arms into the wall. Raising them high over his head, Magnus slammed them repeatedly until his anger cooled a little, the wall was a crumpled mess, and (most importantly) the pain in his chin was almost undetectable under the pain in his abused arms.

Jazz met Rodi's optics as Magnus leaned against the damaged wall, trying to regain the rest of his composure. Jazz looked from the wall, to Rodi, and back again as if to say "That should have been you, man." Rodimus merely pursed his lips in faint disgust and then shrugged. Jazz sighed and shook his head.

Magnus turned around suddenly and said, "OK, Rodimus. Start explaining. What's this plan of yours?" His entire demeanor said "This had better be good."

Rodimus grinned wickedly, and laid it out for them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Maelstrom 4**

**Tunnels: Part 6**

Author's note: This story is part of a LONG series called Maelstrom. It is strictly Gen. 1 - sorry, but that was all that was out when I started writing back in the late 1980's. It began as a fan-publication so the first chapters are in the form of a comic book! If you have not read the nine original **Maelstrom Comics** and the preceding text stories, I strongly suggest you do. This is a complex universe. They can be found at http// illmatar. deviantart. com (I have put double spaces between the addy here or FF . Net eats the link.) The comics and art which accompanies this series are there...and believe me I am a better artist than writer.

**Most chapters of this series contain strong language and violence. Rated M for adult themes! Really! Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. Critiques adored!**

By the time he was done, Rodimus had given them a better understanding of the how's and why's of Vector Sigma manipulation. He had also gained their grudging understanding as to why not much was to change. The war with the Decepticons may have been a lie from the start but it was now their only protection against direct Jabez interference. As long as their enemies thought the Autobots were preoccupied with the Decepticons then the Jabez were more likely to take their time before moving decisively. Rodimus had learned from Lancer (not to mention personal experience) that the Jabez were prone to research things for decades before doing anything on a broad scale. They weren't afraid of unpredictable things like the Quints were but they recognized the problems the unexpected could cause.

Having multiple lifetimes to spend they preferred to exhaust every avenue of research so as to minimized the risk of the unexpected occurring. Unless of course they wanted chaotic results, in which case they were every bit as good at fostering discord as they were at controlled manipulation. Vector Sigma had apparently learned well from its designers, because it had used both control and chaos to create the two warring factions of its "children".

Having given them this explanation, Rodimus had driven both of them nearly mad with fury. Even Jazz was seething and Rodimus had to put a quelling hand on Magnus several times before he was finished. Rodimus felt like some kind of obscene preschool teacher at story time from the obsessive way they gave him their complete attention. (They were all sitting on the floor too, which didn't help dispel the image.) Then Rodimus started explaining what he intended to do about it. By the time he was done, he had them both smiling evilly too.

"How do you know you'll be able to trust it to do what you say?" Jazz finally asked.

"Several reasons. One, we're its only prayer against the Jabez. Two, it will soon be aware that if it kills us, Optimus is standing ready to destroy this entire region. Three, I'm going to plant a bomb under its resting site. Gee, it must be a bitch not having hands or anything." He flashed that viscous grin again, and showed them the tiny but powerful device. Rodi's companions found it a beautiful sight.

"Can I hold it?" Magnus asked.

Rodimus narrowed his optics suspiciously. "Can I trust you with it?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"OK. But you have to give it back before we get to Vector Sigma's chamber." Rodimus said, handing it over. Jazz just shook his head. Magnus looked at it and smiled.

They took turns standing guard while the others shut down and recharged. This was their fourth such stop and the power cells were nearly drained. They could only hope the trip back was less time-consuming than the one down. When they were all feeling stronger they started off again, with Rodi and Magnus taking turns helping Jazz. Rodimus took it as a bad sign that the injured specialist didn't even argue about the assistance.

It only took them half a day to cover an equal distance to what they had covered in the last three. There were traps but they were all locked or dormant. No drones molested them either. Rodimus smiled grimly to himself. Vector Sigma knew what had brought him down here but not what Rodimus intended to do about it. Perhaps it was hoping to call a truce. There would be no truce. There would be an unconditional surrender if Rodimus had his way. As they neared the chamber, Magnus gave back the bomb without being reminded. Rodimus smirked on the sly at Jazz who only shrugged.

When they entered the chamber Jazz and Magnus were a little surprised to see Vector Sigma up and activated. Rodimus was not. Like everything else about the super computer the need for some kind of activating key or device was a misleading falsehood to add mysticism and discourage annoying visits from pesky Transformers. After all, why make such an dangerous trek if you couldn't even awaken the thing you wanted to talk to?

There was a moment of silence as three embittered Autobots regarded their creator. Vector Sigma tried to maintain its cover, even though it knew from the holograms that Rodimus had figured out its secrets.

The impressive voice resonated through the chamber. "I AM VECTOR SIGMA. BEFORE CYBERTRON WAS, I WA..."

"You was a Jabez created tinker toy! Shut up, you fucking piece of lying shit!" Rodimus said. He said it so calmly, that Jazz wasn't even sure he heard the words correctly. Personally, Jazz felt such a phrase deserved to be shouted as loudly as possible.

"I AM YOUR CREATOR! HOW DARE YO.." the glowing mass of circuitry began.

"Oh, you'd be surprised what I dare to do, fuckingpieceofshit. Having been on a field trip to meet your designer changes one's attitude a bit."

Jazz and Magnus both felt their jaws drop yet again.

"The Jabez designed it? IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU LIKE TO TELL US, RODIMUS?" Magnus roared.

"Not right now," Rodimus said calmly. Magnus threw up his hands and started pacing furiously.

"I think I need to sit down," Jazz said weakly, which he did right where he'd been standing.

"Rodimus...how can you be sure?" Magnus asked urgently.

Rodimus smirked nastily, "Because our lying progenitor isn't as unique as it probably would like. There are two more just like it on the Maelstrom, but they aren't sentient. Look at it Magnus. It's the Matrix, only bigger. You don't amount to much do you Sigma? Just an overblown memory crystal. The Maelstrom is loaded with them. Little ones, big ones, and two huge ones like you. It's just the lying, manipulating, and murdering that makes you special."

The crystalline computer pulsed and flared erratically, but remained silent.

"I don't expect you to own up to it you fucking shit..." Rodimus whispered almost seductively. "It doesn't matter if you answer me or not. I won't trust anything you say anyhow."

Without taking his optics off of it, Rodimus told Magnus, "The Maelstrom carries a network of over 300 Matrix style crystals that Lancer knew of, with two newer versions of Vector Sigma at the heart of it. Now, I am just guessing of course, but the Maelstrom was stolen breaking Pagan out of a Jabez research facility...and they killed a few Jabez to get it. I'm guessing that means the Maelstrom is Jabez handiwork. I saw Matrix style crystals while I was being tortured too. I could be wrong of course, but somehow I don't think so."

He smiled, and looked a bit bit deranged as he did so.

"Now then, where was I?" Rodimus said, "OH, yes. Here's the deal, FuckingShit, if you want to stay alive, you are going to do exactly what we say, whenever we say it. Really, it's all very simple."

"I STILL think we should just destroy it!" Magnus growled, coming to a halt by Rodi's side. "It can't be trusted! It lied and manipulated us for our WHOLE history! It has too many lives to answer for!"

"Like Bluestreak and Iron Hide! I'm with the Major General!" Jazz said.

"JAZZ!" Magnus roared.

"OK! Calm down! Magnus, you need to relax a little! The fuckingshit isn't entirely stupid. I'm sure it will come to terms with its new status as security grunt quite well. Why don't you go over there and count to a hundred... umm... thousand while I give the fuckingshit its new job description, OK? And if it doesn't like its new job, I'll let you boys have it. Does that sound good to you?"

While they talked Vector Sigma used their distraction and their proximity to try its least used but most powerful intervention. Telepathic manipulation.

Every Transformer, regardless of age or alliance had a backdoor into their neural net...a back door for Vector Sigma to use to influence their thoughts. It rarely needed to take direct control, although it could in extremis if the mind was especially susceptible Instead it preferred to plant suggestions the victim would take as their own ideas. Knowing them all as well as it did, Vector Sigma preferred to be subtle. It seeded both sides with personalities that kept events moving the way it wanted on their own. If more direct influence was called for it chose a person who would be likely to think on the lines it needed anyway and encouraged the appropriate ideas to the forefront.

Suggesting things that went against the grain for a particular person was much more difficult but not impossible.

However since the three Autobots in its chamber were inclined to be hostile to its aims, Vector Sigma calculated the extra effort would be worthwhile.

If it had gone for Magnus or Jazz, it might have gotten somewhere, but it went for Rodimus first.

After all...Rodimus was calling the shots and Vector Sigma was most worried about the heretic Prime confronting it. It hoped having the junior leader in the same room would facilitate things. It had been having trouble reaching Rodi since he returned. At most though, Vector Sigma expected some interference - due perhaps to his torture, his time as a human, or the link to Lancer or even a combination of those factors. It expected a bit a patient maneuvering would be all it would take to gain access. Then it could slowly convince Rodimus that his belligerent stance towards his creator was misguided and wrong.

It reached out, touched Rodi's mind...and drew back in shock and anguish. Rodimus' channels were not only closed to it, they were guarded on some subconscious level. When it touched him, it got a violent dose of Rodi's pain when he'd been tortured. Having no sensory web of its own, the shock of sensation knocked Vector Sigma's ability to touch the minds of its Transformers completely off line. It calculated instantly it would beat least a week's downtime before the circuits were repaired. The time it would take to calculate the damage caused by a rogue Transformer...a rogue PRIME would be a bit longer. Never in all these millions of years had there ever been a Transformer the super computer couldn't control.

Only then did Vector Sigma really begin to worry. It sensed its unchallenged, _unnoticed_ reign coming to an abrupt end.

The whole event took less than 3 seconds and the Autobots weren't even aware. Even Rodimus didn't notice. The touch on his mind was so fast, faint, and familiar he took no notice of it. It wasn't the first time Vector Sigma had invaded his brain - just the first time since Lancer brought him home. His defense against it now wasn't intentional - it was an instinct he inherited from Lancer. Her possession had built walls around her mind and without even being aware of them, Rodimus had adopted a similar barrier.

"Now go over there like good boys and figure out your options while you count. OK?" he told the others.

Jazz and Magnus both grinned at Rodi's simperingly sweet sarcastic voice as he shooed them to the side of the chamber. Magnus helped Jazz slide over so they could rest their backs against the wall, and watch Rodimus lay out his plans for Vector Sigma without once missing an opportunity to demean, threaten, or insult it. They felt a little obscene pride at their leader's well-honed ability to be a very annoying pain-in-the-ass. At least he wasn't using it on them for a change. There were plenty of unsubtle threats to go around too.

Magnus began counting and enjoyed Rodimus' appreciative grin when he embellished a little on the numbers.

"One, I'd really like to tear that thing apart with my bare hands." Magnus said in a humorless growl. "Two, I'd like to drop it down a black hole. Three, I'd like to use it as a punching bag."

"Four, it would make a great toy for the Dinobots," Jazz interjected.

"Hey, that's a good one Jazz," Magnus said.

"Thanks, Mags. What's five?"

They kept at it and Rodimus thought it made the perfect backdrop for his "negotiations." "You see how angry they are, FuckingShit? Those are the most mature, settled Autobots Op and I could find, and they're sitting in the corner creatively plotting your demise. I don't need this bomb really." he said as he placed it on Vector Sigma's underside. "All I need to tell you is that Optimus is waiting for our safe return. If we don't go back with your complete cooperation, all he needs to do is tell the others. He's planning on telling the Decepticons too, by the way. You don't need to worry about the Jabez getting you, FuckingShit. If word of this leaks out, nothing's ever gonna save you. Those two over there will remember eventually that you are our only means of reproduction but not before they would have destroyed you if I hadn't stopped them. Just be thankful I was OFF world when I figured it out. I would have killed you right then myself. You are going to do what I say, you'd better do it well, and you'd better hope that I know what I'm doing, because if not we are all very, very fucked."

"You would enslave me, as the Quintessons once did." Vector Sigma said in a quiet, despairing way.

"I WOULD HAVE YOU DOING YOUR FAIR FUCKING SHARE, YOU LYING PIECE OF SHIT! AND DON'T TEST MY PATIENCE! YOU'VE USED US, LIED TO US, AND LET US DIE BY THE THOUSANDS JUST TO COVER YOUR SORRY ASS! I'VE GOT A MILLION REASONS TO KILL YOU AND ONLY ONE TO KEEP YOU AROUND, SO DON'T TRY THAT SHIT ON ME! I'M GONNA WORK YOU INTO THE GROUND AND I'M _NOT EVER_ GONNA FEEL SORRY FOR YOU!" Rodimus' roar rocked the chamber, and Magnus was on his feet immediately. He went straight for the computer like a rabid pit-bull, but was stopped by Rodi's hand. Rodimus shook his head.

"Are you sure ?" Magnus said very quietly.

"Yes. Not yet." Rodimus said, giving Vector Sigma a meaningful glance.

"I gave you life," the computer said.

"That doesn't give you the right to abuse us," Rodimus said. "You could have used your knowledge to unite and educate us against the Jabez. You could have protected us and yourself. Instead we fought and died in war after senseless war, and now that they are coming for us, we are divided and unprepared."

"It was a mistake."

"Yes. And now you're going to make up for it." Rodimus intoned.

The computer was silent, and Ultra Magnus went back to his counting game beside Jazz while Rodimus finished laying out the details for his new and improved security systems. Vector Sigma would be linked to the sensors and security systems all over Cybertron. It was to watch for slavers and Converts. The drones would now patrol Cybertron unpopulated regions to watch for teleported infiltrators. As more sensors were installed, its range and duties would increase until not a square inch of Cybertron went unmonitored. At the same time, it would have to ignore and erase from memory anything it saw that had nothing to do with the Jabez threat. Rodimus wanted the planet to be safe, but he didn't want Vector Sigma to become some sort of omnipresent peeping-tom.

"This plan... might work," Vector Sigma said grudgingly.

"I'm so glad you approve," Rodimus said, sarcasm dripping off every word.

"I will do as you say," the computer said. It almost sounded meek but not quite.

"You bet your ass you will," said Jazz cheerfully. "One hundred and three, it would make a great disco ball!"

"I will be back down in a few days to hook up the network," Rodimus said to Vector Sigma, "I expect we will have no further delays in reaching the surface or coming back down."

"No, Prime." the computer said.

Magnus grinned wickedly. None of the Autobots addressed Rodimus that respectfully without getting some kind of silly remark out of the young commander to make them stop. Formality usually got on Rodi's nerves, but in this case he wasn't objecting for some reason.

"Let's go guys," Rodimus said. The trip back was without incident.


End file.
